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Secondary (Grades 7-12) and Undergraduate Field Trips

On-site and virtual field trips help students understand the impact of the Holocaust, genocide, human rights violations, and standing up for others. Pre and post-visit activities aid educators in extending students’ learning and fostering meaningful learning experiences.

Choose from a variety of on-site or virtual learning experiences to engage your students with subject matter related to the Holocaust, genocide, universal human and civil rights, and other important topics. 

All field trips listed below support Common Core State Standards in English/Language Arts and Literacy in History Social Studies, Illinois Social Science Standards, and the C2 Framework for Social Studies Standards.

In Our Voices

Field Trip for Grades 7-12 | Available On-Site

In Our Voices transforms history into lessons for today, inviting students to consider the power of choice, responsibility, citizenship, and human rights, with the goal of discovering what influences our decisions to act as bystanders or Upstanders. Through guided exploration, students investigate the history of the Holocaust as told through the personal belongings, photographs, historical records, and stories of Chicagoland Survivors and eyewitnesses. Students are encouraged to use this knowledge to make connections to their world today. The field trip includes suggested pre and post-visit activities.

On-site field trips include:

Docent-led tour of Zev & Shifra Karkomi Holocaust Exhibition
Tour of the Act of Art gallery or special exhibition
Presentation of a Survivor story by a member of the Museum’s Speakers’ Bureau or other comparable content.

FEBRUARY-MAY 2024: Please note that all In Our Voices field trips booked on Tuesdays or Fridays between February and May 2024 will be teacher-led with gallery attendants. In Our Voices field trips booked outside those months, or on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and weekends, will be docent-led. 

On-site Group Size:
10 students minimum, 160 students maximum

On-site Times Offered:
Monday – Friday | 9:30 AM, 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, 2:00 PM
Saturday – Sunday | 10:00 AM, 11:00 AM


On-site Tour Length: 3 hours

Virtual field trips include:

  • Pre-recorded exploration of the history of the Holocaust through artifacts and stories in the Zev & Shifra Karkomi Holocaust Exhibition
  • Tour divided into four segments, each with discussion prompts, reflection questions, and supplemental activities
  • Flexibility for use within in-person, remote, and hybrid learning environments
  • Optional virtual presentation by a member of the Speakers’ Bureau and/or a Q&A session with a Museum docent
Voices of Genocide (AVAILABLE MAY 2, 2024)

Field Trip for Grades 7-12 | Exclusively Available On-Site

As the distance between the Holocaust and the generations we teach expands, students increasingly seek to understand how and why a genocide could happen. In this field trip, combining two of the Museum’s core exhibitions, participants engage with the new Voices of Genocide Exhibition to learn about common conditions that exist across genocides and how to recognize warning signs. In the Take a Stand Center, students develop agency and explore strategies to work toward intervention and prevention of genocide and the promotion of human rights, locally and around the world. 

On-Site Group Size:
10 students minimum, 80 students maximum

On-Site Times Offered:
Monday – Friday: 9:45 AM, 11:45 AM, 1:45 AM

On-Site Tour Length: 1 hour 45 minutes

Take a Stand

Field Trip for Grades 7-12 | Exclusively Available On-Site

Empower students to connect with human and civil rights history and challenges today, gathering tools for civic engagement and positive action in their community and world. Explore Upstanders working to champion areas of economic opportunity, equal rights, safe communities, education and health, and the environment. Students will learn how to take action on issues that matter to them while exploring art as a form of activism, and will come away with tools and strategies to create positive change.

On-site field trips include a tour of the Abe & Ida Cooper Survivor Stories Experience. Virtual field trips include flexibility for use within in-person, remote, and hybrid learning environments.

This field trip supports the Illinois Civics Mandates for Middle and High Schools.

On-site Group Size: 10 students minimum, 100 students maximum
On-site Times Offered: Monday – Friday | 9:45 AM, 11:45 AM, 1:45 PM
On-site Tour Length: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Be An Upstander

Field Trip for Grades 6-12 | Exclusively Available On-Site
Recommended for grade 6, or grade 7-8 with limited background knowledge.

Students develop skills to use their voices to speak out for themselves and on behalf of others and are empowered to take positive action in their schools and communities. Be an Upstander field trips are on-site only and include tours of the Abe & Ida Cooper Survivor Stories Experience and the Act of Art gallery, or a special exhibition (when age-appropriate).

Through experiential and interactive activities exploring the compelling stories of Holocaust Survivors and contemporary Upstanders, students will gain a deeper understanding of universal human rights; civil rights; empowering and creating community; social justice; social-emotional learning; and age-appropriate introductory Holocaust education.

On-site Group Size: 10 students minimum, 80 students maximum
On-site Times Offered: Monday – Friday | 9:45 AM, 1:45 PM
On-site Tour Length: 2 hours, 40 minutes

This field trip supports Illinois Priority Learning Standards for Social/Emotional Learning and the Illinois Civics Mandate for Middle School.

Make A Difference!

Field Trip for Grades 5-12 | Exclusively Available On-Site
Recommended for grade 5, or grade 6-7 with limited background knowledge.

Students will be inspired by contemporary and historic Upstanders who have taken action on issues that matter to them.

Through experiential and interactive activities, students will develop skills to speak out and get involved in their local and global communities while gaining a deeper understanding of universal human rights; civil rights; empowering and creating community; social justice; social-emotional learning; and age-appropriate introductory Holocaust education.

Make a Difference! field trips include tours of the Act of Art gallery or a special exhibition (when age-appropriate).

On-site Group Size: 10 students minimum, 80 students maximum
On-site Times Offered: Monday – Friday | 9:45 AM, 11:45 AM, 1:45 PM
On-site Tour Length: 2 hours, 20 minutes

This field trip supports Illinois Priority Learning Standards.

Make A Difference!

Field Trip for Grades 5-12 | Exclusively Available Online
Recommended for grades 5-6.

Experiential technology, online interactives, and compelling stories of Holocaust Survivors encourage students to explore their role in empowering and creating community through the lens of universal human and civil rights. Online activities may be completed individually, as a class, or a combination of the two.

Options available within the field trip allow educators to focus on essential themes, including social justice; social/emotional learning; contemporary Upstanders; and age-appropriate introductory Holocaust education.

This field trip supports Illinois Priority Learning Standards for social/emotional learning and the Illinois Civics Mandate for middle schools.

Photo credits: Scott Edwards; Kathleen Hinkel; Emily Mohney

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