STEM experiences have been built into City Schools’ curriculum for all students. The experiences are designed to enhance the curriculum and consist of in-person field trips, virtual experiences, and in-school experiences.
Baltimore City Public Schools staff can request a STEM experience for their school. Schools are responsible for any entry or participation costs. Free transportation will be provided to one in-person field trip per school while funding lasts. Once the free transportation fund has been exhausted, it will be noted on this website. However, schools will still be able to use this website to schedule trips if they can pay all the associated costs.
Please note that you must be logged into Google with your City Schools account to request a STEM Experience. For additional information about scheduling a trip please contact Kwame Abdul-Hamid ([email protected]).
Kindergarten
Class: Science
Unit 2: Mini-Golf
Location: Maryland Science Center (Field Trip)
Self-Guided Tour: Students will engage in hands-on investigations of force and motion during a self-guided tour of the Newton’s Alley and Science & Main exhibits.
Limitations: Only available on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays
Cost: Free
1st Grade
Class: Science
Unit 2: Can You See the Light?
Location: Baltimore Museum of Industry (Field Trip or Classroom Visit)
Lights On: Students explore the use of light as a communication method. They start by touring the museum to see how light and sound have been used historically to communicate, and then they build their own light communication device.
Capacity: 25 students; 5 chaperones/25 students recommended
Cost: $5 per student at the museum, $10 per student for classroom visits, and $9 per chaperone (fees could be waived or reduced)
2nd Grade
Class: Science
Unit 1: What do Plants Need?
Location: Rawlings Conservatory <– Not Available this Year
Little Leaves (What Plants Need): Students learn about biomes as they visit three biomes in the Conservatory. They get to touch and smell different plants and the fruits they produce. Students look for how plants are different and draw pictures of specific adaptations plants have developed to survive. Next students design a cactus from clay and create a small terrarium (with a plant) which they get to take home.
Capacity: All students must be vaccinated
Cost: Free
Class: Science
Unit 1: What do Plants Need?
Location: Great Kids Farm (Field Trip)
Description: Free in-person field trips to Great Kids Farm are available for all Baltimore City Public Schools with students in kindergarten-5th grade (limit: one trip per school). On the trip, students will experience curriculum-aligned, hands-on learning with plants, animals, and land at Great Kids Farm, a 33-acre educational site owned and operated by City Schools.
Hours: Monday-Friday, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Cost: Free
3rd Grade
Class: Science
Science Unit 3: Survival of the Fittest
Location: Maryland Zoo (Field Trip)
Self-Guided Tour: Teachers lead a self-guided tour of the zoo designed by zoo educators. Students focus on how elements of zoo habitats meet animals’ needs and consider how to design habitats.
Cost: Free admission, $140 for Zoo Lab sessions
Registration: Schools must request an experience through this form and register through the Zoo website for this field trip.
Chaperones: One adult chaperone (teacher or other adult) is required for every 8 students and will receive free admission. Additional chaperones will have to pay for admission.
5th Grade
Class: Science
Unit 5: Save the Bay
Location: Inner Harbor with the Waterfront Partnership (Field Trip)
Inner Harbor EcoTour: The harbor is full of life, and there are lots of projects helping to make it a healthy and safe place for people and wildlife. Students learn about curriculum-related green infrastructure and innovations on a casual walking tour of the Inner Harbor.
Cost: Free
Location: Disembark from the Canton Waterfront Park on the Snow Goose, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s floating classroom
Class: Science
Unit 5: Save the Bay
Baltimore Harbor Environmental Education Program: Onboard the Snow Goose, students investigate environmental issues and trends within the context of urban ecology. While on the water, students learn about the fragility and resiliency of ecosystems under the pressure of a modern working river.
Capacity: 28 people (including chaperones)
Cost: $220 per trip
6th Grade
Class: Science
Unit 3: Where Have All the Creatures Gone?
Location: National Aquarium (Field Trip or Virtual Experience)
What Lives in the Harbor: Students learn about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and research animal species that could live in the Chesapeake Bay. They then test the water quality of the Baltimore Harbor to predict which animals live in the harbor. Students then conduct an animal survey to test their predictions. After the investigation, students implement an action project to improve the water quality in the harbor.
Capacity: 72 students; 1 chaperone/12 students
Cost: Free
Registration: Schools must request an experience through this form and register through the aquarium website for this field trip.
Transportation: The aquarium will provide transportation so schools can register for this field trip and still be eligible for free transportation for another field trip.
7th Grade
Class: Science
Unit 2: Why Do Some Things Stop While Others Keep Going?
Location: Maryland Science Center (Field Trip)
Classroom Program: Students will explore energy transfer as they create a model of an offshore wind and wave energy farm.
Limitations: Only available on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays
Cost: $7.50 per student and free for chaperones
Contact: Alysia Korn, [email protected]
8th Grade
Class: Science
Unit 2: Why Do Organisms Look the Way They Do?
Location: In-school experience led by staff from Johns Hopkins University
BioEYES: A week-long hands-on science program where students observe live zebrafish and raise their embryos, which hatch out and have observable heartbeats in only three days.
Transportation: Since no transportation is required for an in-school experience, schools can register for this experience and still be eligible for free transportation for another field trip.
Capacity: 4 classes/day
Cost: Free
Contact: Valerie Butler, [email protected]
9th Grade
Class: Biology
Unit 6: Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems
Location: Local waterway or Great Kids Farm (Field Trip)
Water Quality Testing: Students test the water quality of a local waterway or the stream at Great Kids Farm.
Cost: Free
Sponsors
$4000