Community Connections & Resources
Connecticut is rich with museums, outdoor experiences and other community resources ready, willing and able to bring unique learning opportunities to your classroom. We have compiled great places for field trips—both in person and virtual—and a growing list of fabulous connections to enhance student experiences and inspire educators.
Field Trips
Introducing Science Concepts through Music and Movement
Using music and movement is a helpful and fun way to introduce topics to students and get them excited about what they are going to learn. Find short films of chants that cover science topics for a variety to age groups.
Ideas and Best Practices for Outdoor Learning
Join Environmental Educator Gammy Moses as he offers insights for bringing the learning outdoors. Educators at Seedlings’ 2024 workshop visited East Rock Park to explore topics, activities and best practices for bringing students outside.
Field Trips: Keeping it Simple and Local
In an interview with Kimberly Behre Kenna, author and a long-time 5th-grade educator, she talks about connecting places to curriculum and using those locales to connect learning to students’ lived experiences.
Field Trips with the New Haven Land Trust
The New Haven Land Trust has developed programming for classrooms to learn about the natural world in the New Haven area. Topics include ecosystems, habitats, natural history, environmental stewardship, and writing in nature.
Learning about Science and Nature through Community Connections
Conte West Students Learn about Science and Nature through Field Work and Community Connections. 2017-18 Seedlings Fellow Diane Huot, a first grade teacher in New Haven, has incorporated field trips to Quinnipiac Meadows Reserve into her class’ study of habitats and organisms with her class.
Soils & Minerals: A Virtual Field Trip
Hartford Science Center’s “Engineering Earth for Building Tomorrow” exhibit has endless natural connections to Seedlings. The exhibit examines how earth materials, including soil and grains, have been used for centuries to build structures, and their potential for use in sustainable construction of the future. Anyone who uses soil kits in their classrooms, as well as those who participated in the “Changing Landscapes: Rocks, Minerals, and Soils” during our Summer Workshop, will find meaningful ways for this exhibit to enrich the curriculum.
Museums & Other New Haven-Area Treasures
Discovering the Mill River: From Field to the Classroom
In 2024, after a trip to East Rock Park, participants were tasked to share the developmentally-aligned stories of the Mill River ecosystem on a 12-foot model of the Mill River.
K-12 Education at the Yale Peabody Museum
The Yale Peabody Museum is committed to K-12 education, welcoming students from New Haven schools and beyond on their campuses, as well as offering virtual learning opportunities and online teacher resources.
Common Ground Environmental Education Center
Located in New Haven, Conn., Common Ground seeks to connect people of all ages to their urban environments and build communities while fostering a sense of leadership and and the value of contributing to a just and sustainable world. They offer learning opportunities for the whole community, as well as many options for educators.
Connecticut River Museum
Based in Essex, the Connecticut River Museum celebrates the history, land and water, stories and people of the area. The museum’s education department has a myriad of opportunities for hands-on learning and exploration.
Whitney Water Center
The Whitney Water Center is here to help you bring fun science programming to your classroom! The Center has been providing high-quality science programs for your K-8th grade classrooms for the last 30 years.
Yale University Art Gallery
Yale University Art Gallery is a long-time Seedlings partner. In addition to the personalized professional development during our workshop, the museum ties its collection and educational staff with professional development for New Haven’s educators through a series of educational events and workshops.
Connecticut River Museum:
Steam Boat Virtual Field Trip
In the 1800’s and early 1900’s, steam boats became a popular method of transportation for both people and goods for sale. Learn how this method of transportation was used throughout Connecticut from this informative video from the Connecticut River Museum.
