Summer is a great opportunity to prove the adage that real learning takes place outside the classroom.
Field trips, perpetually popular breaks from the regularity of the classroom during the school year, can also function as a break from the routine nonroutine of summer vacation. A place you drive by every day can become a world of wonders for your children once they've seen an inside view.
There's a little legwork involved in setting up tours, but the results are worth it. You and your kids will have shared something new and everyone will learn something. Best of all, most tours are free, making for an educational experience and a good bargain rolled into one.
Don't be limited by the itinerary we've assembled. Check your local phone book, chamber of commerce or tourist bureau. Or, cast about for a friend or friend of a friend who may be willing to guide you through a place that you or your child has wondered about.
Let your touring instincts be guided by your child's interests, and don't be put off by negative responses. We contacted four banks before finding one that gives tours, and we had no luck at all in locating a mechanic brave enough to let a group of kids into his shop.
Amy Waldman, a Milwaukee-based freelance writer, conducted lots of tours when she was lifestyle editor of the MARSHFIELD NEWS-HERALD in Wisconsin.
Illustration By Marc Rosenthal For FamilyFun
