Looking for Unique Denver Field Trip Ideas to Follow Your Book Unit?
Check Out These 5 Awesome Field Trip Ideas!
Denver, Colorado is a cultural hub. While you won’t find as many children’s books set in Denver as you will in other metropolitan cities, the city, itself, has a wealth of historical places and unique venues that will make planning a literary field trip possible and fun. For instance, at the start of each school year, check the Town of Parker’s Cultural Department calendar to see what works of literature they will be bringing to life on stage.
Plus, the award-winning children’s author Avi calls Colorado home. Many of his books are set in Colorado or the Rocky Mountains. While it may not be possible to visit some of the settings from the books, Avi often speaks in Denver and signs books. Can you imagine the delight your students will feel when they meet the author of the book you read in class face-to-face?
Not only can you take your students to meet Avi or see literature as a theater production, but you can also explore Denver and the surrounding area through a literary lens.
Thomas Hornsby Ferril House
If you are doing a poetry unit with your students, consider taking your kids on a field trip that makes a stop at the Thomas Hornsby Ferril House located at 2123 Downing Street in Denver. Thomas Hornsby Ferril, Colorado’s first poet laureate, called Denver home. His former home has been declared a historic landmark. In addition to housing the famed poet from the time he was four years old until his death, it was also frequented by other famous poets such as Robert Frost, Dorothy Parker, and Carl Sandburg.
Molly Brown House Museum
Should you have the opportunity to lead your students through a book unit studying the great, Unsinkable Molly Brown, you absolutely must visit the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver. There are numerous non-fiction books that students can read in preparation for this field trip. As students walk through her room, all the things they have read will become reality.
Tesoro Cultural Center
Tesoro Cultural Center is home to a replica of an authentic adobe replica of Bent’s Old Fort, which was a part of the Santa Fe Trail. While history comes to mind, this unique destination would work well with many different types of texts, such as non-fiction books about the Santa Fe trail, as well as fictional novels set during the Westward Expansion such as Gary Paulsen’s well-loved Tucket Adventures series.
Golden History Museum and Park
One of the famous icons from the great state of Colorado is Buffalo Bill, and it is easy to pull together books about the famed cowboy. For instance, those classes working on non-fiction and biographies may choose to read Presenting Buffalo Bill: The Man Who Invented the Wild West by Candace Fleming. Upon reading about Buffalo Bill in this biography, take your students to the Golden History Museum and Park where they can visit Golden History Park, a three-acre space with 19th-century replicas, and meet Buffalo Bill!
Mizel Museum
Located in Denver, this special museum works to foster cross-cultural understanding, combat racism and promote social justice. At the Mizel Museum, students can learn about atrocities that happened across the country, and even, across the world. For example, if your students are doing a Holocaust unit and reading Elie Wiesel’s Night, a field trip to Mizel Museum can be an extension of what students are reading as the museum offers a Holocaust survivors themed field trip. What Denver field trips have you found work well to support your novel units? Let us know in the comments!
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