Students in grades 3–12 are now invited to apply for the 2025 America’s Field Trip contest, giving students the chance to celebrate and commemorate America’s Semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
To apply, students can share artwork or an essay answering the prompt: What does America mean to you? All first-place attendees will be able to participate in a field trip with one parent or guardian to one of the country’s most iconic historic and cultural sites.
Winners and chaperones are awarded airfare and lodging for a three-day trip to a select site to experience the following:
- Exclusive visits to two Washington, D.C., institutions: National Archives Vault on the National Mall and a private tour of Smithsonian’s National Zoo
- Behind-the-scenes tour of National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazt Center and sleepover at Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C.
- Storytelling, history and commemoration under the stars at Mount Rushmore National Memorial
- Exclusive tour of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia, and a visit to Library of Congress
- Private tour of Kennedy Space Center in Florida
- Backstage tour of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio
- Tours of the Alamo in San Antonio and LBJ Presidential Library in Austin, Texas
- Private tours of Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, International African American Museum, and South Carolina Aquarium
- Tour of Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia
- Private guided tour of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Montana
- Guided visit to Angel Island Immigration Station and a candlelight tour of Fort Point at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
- Ranger-led hikes and tours of the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado
Second-place awardees receive a $500 cash award, and the teacher associated with top-scoring student submissions in each grade category will receive a $1,000 cash award.
See here for submission guidelines and to apply. Submissions are open until April 16, 2025, at 5 p.m. ET. Awardees will be notified in late April/early May.
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