Illinois, United States
Field trips near Chicago, IL
Local school field trips, kids field trips, and day trips with official photos, prices, weather fit, lunch, parking, accessibility, and booking links.
Local planning snapshot
This page is built around local searches like field trips near Chicago, school field trips near me, scout and camp field trips, youth group trips, and kids field trips near Chicago. Start with distance and weather fit, then open detail pages to verify current ticket calendars, reservation windows, group rules, arrival logistics, food policies, and source freshness.
Where to start in Chicago
Start with the local places that have enough price, booking, photo, and logistics detail for a useful first comparison.
If you need a quick first pass, start with venues like Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, Adler Planetarium School Field Trips, and Administration Clock Tower Building Visitor Center before checking their exact student, adult, or group rate lines.
Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, Adler Planetarium School Field Trips, and Administration Clock Tower Building Visitor Center are good first checks when you want indoor backup before digging into more weather-sensitive options.
31 places lean museum, science, history, or culture, which makes this metro stronger for curriculum-tied classroom trips than for purely outdoor day trips.
That gives you a cleaner local shortlist for class groups, homeschool meetups, or scout/camp planning without relying on broad “things to do” pages.
What this metro page answers best
Use these blocks to compare nearby options by cost, weather fit, trip type, and how much planning detail is available before you open each venue page.
That makes this page stronger than a generic “things to do” list when you need a nearby comparison set with official links, prices, and trip-day logistics in one place.
Start with those for class planning, then open the venue pages to confirm current dates, class-size rules, chaperone ratios, and arrival details.
That gives homeschool pods and co-ops a narrower local set to check before falling back to broader statewide exploration.
Use those counts together when the trip needs to work for younger students, short bus windows, or uncertain weather.

Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum
CHICAGO option for STEM exhibits and class discussion; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Adler Planetarium School Field Trips
Chicago Adler Planetarium field trip with free Chicago/Illinois K-12 student museum entry, $8 one-show and $16 two-show add-ons, three-week request deadline, two-week payment/change deadline, 1:10 required chaperones, lunch reservation rules, bus greeting/orientation.
- Reserve
- Submit the official field-trip request at least three weeks before the first desired date; Adler sends reservation confirmation by email within five business days if the date can be accommodated.
- Lunch
- Reserve lunch space before arrival if the group needs to eat indoors. On field trip days, groups with reservations use Cosmic Cafe at the scheduled time; without a lunch reservation there is no indoor lunch space, and on non-field-trip days packed lunches must be eaten outdoors.
- Bus
- Use the official 1300 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive address. On field trip days, groups are greeted on buses and directed to a safe unloading zone; verify current bus parking, Museum Campus traffic, and Soldier Field event conflicts before sending driver notes.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Administration Clock Tower Building Visitor Center
Chicago history and civics field trip with a free NPS visitor center, 45-minute ranger-guided tour options, exhibits, Junior Ranger materials, and a walkable planned industrial community.
- Reserve
- Use NPS field-trip guidance or contact the park before a class visit; NPS says programs can include visitor center tours, talks, walks, collaborative learning, classroom ranger visits, and customized objectives.
- Lunch
- NPS meal guidance says the park has no concessions or vending machines; plan lunch through bus, neighborhood, partner site, or school logistics.
- Bus
- Use the official visitor center approach at 610 E. 111th Street; Recreation.gov warns that the parking lot entrance is on 111th Street and not through the historic stone worker's gate.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5
Art Institute of Chicago K-12 Student Groups
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Bronzeville Children's Museum
CHICAGO option for hands-on play and younger elementary kids; helpful details include price, school trip, and reservation.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5
Chicago Architecture Center Field Trips
Chicago option for STEM exhibits and class discussion; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Chicago Botanic Garden
Glencoe / Chicago option for an outdoor or weather-aware trip; helpful details include price, school trip, and reservation.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Chicago Children's Museum
CHICAGO option for hands-on play and younger elementary kids; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Chicago Cultural Center
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Chicago History Museum Field Trips
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5
Chicago Maritime Museum
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Chicago Riverwalk
Chicago option with useful basics for families or groups.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Clarke House Museum
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and reservation.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Check the ticket page for current rates.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Field Museum
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Frederick C. Robie House
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Garfield Park Conservatory School Field Trips
Chicago option for an outdoor or weather-aware trip; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5
Glessner House
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
Chicago option for STEM exhibits and class discussion; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Halim Time & Glass Museum
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Check the ticket page for current rates.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Indian Boundary Park Cultural Center
Chicago option for an outdoor or weather-aware trip; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures Museum Field Trips
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Kohl Children's Museum
Glenview / Chicago option for hands-on play and younger elementary kids; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Chicago
Schaumburg / Chicago option for hands-on play and younger elementary kids; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Lincoln Park Zoo
Chicago option for an outdoor or weather-aware trip; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Maggie Daley Park
Chicago option for an outdoor or weather-aware trip; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Museum of Science and Industry
CHICAGO option for STEM exhibits and class discussion; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Museum of Science and Industry Chicago Field Trips
Chicago option for STEM exhibits and class discussion; helpful details include price, school trip, and reservation.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

National Museum of Mexican Art
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and reservation.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts & Culture
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Check the ticket page for current rates.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

North Park Village Nature Center
Chicago option for an outdoor or weather-aware trip; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Chicago option for an outdoor or weather-aware trip; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Pullman National Historical Park
Chicago option for an outdoor or weather-aware trip; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

Richard H. Driehaus Museum
Chicago option for a museum-style learning day; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5
Shedd Aquarium
Chicago option for animals and live exhibits; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5

The Morton Arboretum
Chicago option for an outdoor or weather-aware trip; helpful details include price, school trip, and group visit.
- Reserve
- Use the ticket or visit page for current reservation timing.
- Lunch
- Use the visit page for lunch, snack, and outside-food rules.
- Bus
- Use the visit page for bus, parking, and drop-off instructions.
- Grades
- Pre-K, K-2, 3-5