The Best Fall Elementary School Field Trips in L.A. County, CA

For public, private and homeschooled children, here are some of the best fall, school field trips offered in Los Angeles County, California. In compliance with California State-approved curriculum standards, most of these educationally fun learning destinations are provided free for all students, regardless of district affiliation.

September - Free Museum Day

The last Saturday in September brings Free Museum Day, opening up all Smithsonian-affiliate museums to the public. Choose your museum or gallery destination, and then get details for printing out admission passes in the article "Annual Free Museum Day for Southern California & Nationwide" http://look.ac/8Xa3y6 .

September to October - The Los Angeles County Fair

The Los Angeles County Fair offers Elementary School children "FairKids" field trips. This California State standards-based, field trip is free of charge for preschool through 8th grade students, with 3 hours on the fairgrounds before the public is admitted from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. More details can be found in the article "The One-and-Only Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona, California!" http://look.ac/drR5Sa .

Exhibits include the astonishing human bodies-in-motion (actual bodies), exploring "The Universe Within - Our Body," as well as the larger-than-life "Jurassic Planet," and "A Pirate's Life - An Island Adventure"! California's Heritage Square explores early California history, panning for gold, horse-shoe pounding, corn grinding, quilting, spinning, weaving, broom making, and of course livestock.

Additionally, America's Kids craft competition, "A Time Long Ago" Medieval displays, showcase arts and crafts, and other prize-winning competitions, alongside a nationally-renowned art museum, right on the fairgrounds. The Millard Sheets Center for the Arts features an interactive exhibit "From the Industrial Age to the Computer Age" with related fun learning activities.

October - Cal Poly's Pumpkin Festival

The annual Pumpkin Festival at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, California, takes place only one weekend in mid-October. Activities include the Pumpkin Patch, Petting Zoo, Corn Maze, and highly-educational Insect Fair! For dates and times, see the article "Mid-October Pumpkin Festival at Cal Poly Pomona, California" http://look.ac/9RdJzn .

Heal the Bay Beach Cleanups

School field trip groups (K-8) volunteer cleaning up, while learning at the beach, about "Waves, Wetlands and Watersheds," a California State Coastal Commission's approved educational curriculum. For more information see the article "Volunteer for Beach Cleanup in Los Angeles County, California" http://look.ac/bN4aib .

NASA Educator Resource Centers

There are two Los Angeles NASA Educator Resource Centers offering varied teaching resources such as posters, handouts, tours, and programs. In Pomona, the NASA/JPL Cal-Tech Resource Center is located in the Village at Indian Hill, 1460 East Holt Ave., Suite 20, Pomona, CA, (909) 397-4420 and online at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/ .

In Los Angeles find NASA at the California Science Center/Amgen Center for Science Learning, located at 700 State Drive, Los Angeles, CA, (213) 744-7455. For programs such as Mummies of the World, Make-and-Take Saturdays, and the Hubble 3-D, at the California Science Center, visit online at http://www.californiasciencecenter.org/Education/ProfessionalDevelopment/Kresa/Kresa.php .