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 & Virtually
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
Children of the Holocaust – Thematic Tour
Field Trip for Grades 7-12 | Exclusively Available Virtually
When World War II began, approximately 1.6 million Jewish children lived in Nazi-occupied Europe and the Soviet Union. By war’s end, few had survived. Through the personal belongings, photographs, diaries, and eyewitness account of Survivors, explore the lives of Jewish children and adolescents – from the years leading up to the war, to the roundups and deportations, to hidden life and death in ghettos and concentration camps, and to liberation and coping following the war.
These live virtual tours, facilitated by a Museum docent, engage students in a particular topic within the history of the Holocaust. Thematic tours are recommended for upper-level classes and students with substantial prior knowledge of the subject.
Ghettoization During the Holocaust – Thematic Tour
Field Trip for Grades 7-12 | Exclusively Available Virtually
Through the personal belongings, photographs, historical records, and stories of local Survivors and eyewitnesses, explore life behind ghetto walls in occupied-Europe and the Soviet Union. Students will discover how even in the darkness of the ghettos, with the most limited resources, many Jewish people maintained their dignity, education, culture, and hope in humanity.
These live virtual tours, facilitated by a Museum docent, engage students in a particular topic within the history of the Holocaust. Thematic tours are recommended for upper-level classes and students with substantial prior knowledge of the subject.
Nazi Propaganda: Fueling Hate and Genocide – Thematic Tour
Field Trip for Grades 7-12 | Exclusively Available Virtually
This tour introduces students to the basic tools and techniques propagandists used in shaping their message. Through the historical lens of the Holocaust, viewed through primary sources, the tour illuminates how Nazi propaganda molded public opinion and indoctrinated German society with an ideology that fueled racism and hate; leading to the creation of government-sanctioned violence, and ultimately to the murder of an estimated 6 million Jews.
These live virtual tours, facilitated by a Museum docent, engage students in a particular topic within the history of the Holocaust. Thematic tours are recommended for upper-level classes and students with substantial prior knowledge of the subject.
Spiritual Resistance – Thematic Tour
Field Trip for Grades 7-Undergraduate | Exclusively Available Virtually
Join us as we explore the ways Jewish people maintained their humanity and dignity by using their spirituality to lift themselves above the dehumanization of the Holocaust.
This virtual thematic tour is a docent-facilitated presentation that highlights artifacts and stories from the Museum’s Karkomi Holocaust Exhibition through the lens of Jewish spiritual resistance. Hear the stories of those who found strength from their faith or drew resilience from within, to resist and combat their dire situation, risking their lives to maintain traditions, educate their children, celebrate sabbath and holidays, and sustain their inner beliefs and soul by transcending the physical in the face of Nazi tyranny.
“Spiritual Resistance During the Holocaust” tour is a project of the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center and YU Torah Mitzion Kollel of Chicago. Created by Laurie Hasten and Miki Jona Schreiber.
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