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A field trip or excursion is a journey by a group of people to a place away from their normal environment.

The purpose of the trip is usually observation for education, non-experimental research or to provide students with experiences outside their everyday activities. The aim of this research is to observe the subject in its natural state and possibly collect samples. In western culture people first come across this method during school years when classes are taken on excursions to visit a geological or geographical feature of the landscape, for example. Much of the early research into the natural sciences was of this form. Charles Darwin is an important example of someone who has contributed to science through the use of field trips.^{[citation needed]}

To mitigate these risks and expenses, most school systems now have formalized field trip procedures that considers the entire trip from estimation, approval and scheduling through planning the actual trip and post-trip activities.

[edit] References

• Kaushik, R.,1996, 'Effectiveness of Indian science centres as learning environments: a study of educational objectives in the design of museum experiences'. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Leicester, UK.

[edit] Providers

Notable providers of field trips within the UK include:

• Youth Hostels Association
• Field Studies Council
• National Trust

[edit] See also

• School bus
• Museum education