South Street Seaport Museum Announces Return Of Free, In-Person Field Trips

South Street Seaport Museum has announced the return of in-person field trips as part of its school-age education programs, offering one-of-a-kind learning experiences that allow for social distancing. Students can enjoy outdoor STEM and history programs aboard the Museum's fleet of historic ships and on walking tours throughout Lower Manhattan. Field trip programs are FREE for public and Title I schools through February 28, 2022. To book a program or for more information, please email education@seany.org.

"Providing onsite education programs for New York City students has been a primary objective of the South Street Seaport Museum for decades," said Jonathan Boulware, President and CEO of the Museum. "Nowhere else can students experience the birthplace of New York. Given the many challenges facing students, teachers, and administrators after a pandemic-induced pause, we are very pleased to welcome classrooms and young people back to the Seaport at no cost."

In a typical year, the Seaport Museum's education programs serve upwards of 12,000 students in grades preK-12 in all five boroughs, with 65% coming from public and Title I schools. Students experience New York City's historic, artistic, and natural cultural heritage through programs shipboard, dockside, in SSSM's galleries, throughout the Seaport Historic District, and in their own classrooms. The Seaport Museum is focused on initiatives that increase awareness of diversity within the history of NYC, recognizing the roles of Indigenous peoples, enslaved and free Africans, and immigrants of many origins. All programs are aligned with New York City and State Social Studies and Science Learning Standards and are customized to meet curricular goals of teachers and the specific needs of their students.

In-person, outdoor programs introduce students to New York's waterways, many of them for the first time. Programs are inquiry-based, encouraging students to observe artifacts, art, and nature, discuss their observations, and draw conclusions. Free virtual learning programs and resources for educators and families are also available at seaportmuseum.org/learn.

STEM at the Seaport Museum

New York Harbor and the Seaport Museum's historic fleet offer unique opportunities to explore STEM learning with students. Journey out on the harbor aboard tugboat W.O. Decker to study the ecology of the estuary. Meet dockside aboard tall ship Wavertree to discover how math and engineering are used onboard, from the importance of mechanical advantage to the use of pi in navigation. Learn how the science of the harbor affects how we live through hands-on activities on Pier 16 and in the Seaport neighborhood. The Seaport Museum has STEM programs for all grade levels and curricula, including:

Sailors' Pi: Tall Ship Workshop

90 minutes | grades 5-12 | up to 34 students

Board the tall ship Wavertree at the pier and learn how circles are central to the work of a sailor, use pi to calculate the efficiency of a ship's capstan, and use compasses and charts to navigate and calculate error.

Float Your Boat

90 minutes | grades K-5 | up to 34 students

So many different kinds of boats in the harbor. How do they float? How do they work? Discover some of the physics of the ships in the harbor, survey harbor vessels and their hull shapes, experiment with buoyancy, and discover the secrets of ballast.

Bridges and Ferries

90 minutes | grades 1-6 | up to 34 students

Five boroughs, three islands! Explore how people have connected across the water through the years, observe and analyze bridge and ferry traffic, use historic images to learn how the Brooklyn Bridge changed New York City, and experiment with bridge construction principles of physics and engineering.

Adventures Under Tug-Power

2 hours | grades 5-12 | up to 14 passengers

Take a trip around New York Harbor aboard W.O. Decker, the last remaining wooden tugboat in NYC. Engage in exciting hands-on activities, such as exploring the harbor, measuring water quality, studying the ecology of the estuary, applying mathematics skills and reasoning to interpret navigational charts, and visiting near-shore environments like Gowanus Canal, Newtown Creek, and the working waterfront.

Exploring History at the Seaport Museum

The story of the Seaport is the story of New York. Climb aboard 1885 cargo ship Wavertree and experience the life of a sailor through hands-on activities. Learn about the ships, the people who sailed them, the cargoes they carried, and the businesses that served them. Take a walking tour through the past using documents, artifacts, and images to explore how the neighborhood has evolved from the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam to the city that we know today. The Seaport Museum has History programs for all grade levels and curricula, including:

Explorers, Crew & Cargo: Tall Ship Workshop

90 minutes | grades K-12 | up to 34 students

Board the tall ship Wavertree at the pier and experience the world of trans-Atlantic sailors through hands-on activities, such as hauling ropes to raise sail without leaving the dock, walking the capstan 'round, learning about how sailors and officers spent their days, and discovering the importance of ships, cargo, and commerce from the time of European explorers until today.

Adventures Under Tug-Power

2 hours | grades 5-12 | up to 14 passengers

Take a trip around New York Harbor aboard W.O. Decker, the last remaining wooden tugboat in NYC. Engage in exciting activities, such as studying maps and charts to learn how geography shaped New York's development, seeing the working waterfront up-close, and charting how ships and waterfront activity are still central to New York's economy.

New Amsterdam Walking Tour

90 minutes | grades 4-12 | up to 34 students

Take a walk back in time to the colonial outpost that became New York City. Walking the streets of lower Manhattan, students discover traces of Dutch colonial life in our modern city through images, documents, artifacts, archeological finds, and the street plan itself.

African-Americans in Early New York City Walking Tour

90 minutes | grades 4-12 | up to 34 students

People think of slavery as existing in the South, but in Colonial New York, almost half of the white families owned enslaved people of African descent. Using maps, documents, and images, walk the sites that tell how lower Manhattan and the Seaport were central to African enslavement and the road to freedom, and how Africans helped shape our city.

The Revolutionary War in New York City Walking Tour

90 minutes | grades 4-12 | up to 34 students

The streets and sites of Lower Manhattan tell the story of New York during the Revolution -- the ships and seaport that were the center of trade and taxation disputes, buildings and street corners where futures were debated and history made, the green where the statue of King George was raised and then toppled. Images, documents, artifacts, streets, and buildings all help tell the story.

To protect the health of our guests and staff, the Museum has increased cleaning protocols, and masks will be required throughout all programs.

For more information visit: https://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/