Classroom
Field Trips

K-12 Education

Announcing an expanded catalog of science, engineering, and robotics field trips; plus, bring Van Andel Institute Field Trips on location to your school through our Virtual or Mobile Labs!

Van Andel Institute for Education Field Trips immerse classrooms of students—and their teachers—in learning science through inquiry. Students will conduct unique, grade-specific investigations and participate in hands-on discovery. In addition, when schools come to our facility—either in person or virtually—participants will speak with Van Andel Institute scientists and watch them in action at the Institute’s demonstration lab. All topics are aligned to Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Where: Van Andel Institute for Education, 216 N Division Ave, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 or on location at your school through Mobile Labs
Time commitment: 2 – 4 hours (dependent on grade and content)
Class size: Up to 30 students and a teacher

On location at Van Andel Institute: $15 per student ($300 minimum)
Virtual Field Trips: $15 per student ($300 minimum)
Mobile Lab at your school: $20 per student ($400 minimum)

Don’t see what you’re looking for?

We can customize by grade level or topic just for you! Call us at 616.234.5528.

(M) = Available as on-location Mobile Lab.
Where possible, field trips can be offered virtually.
Costs may vary for customized field trips.

See our Classroom Field Trips in action.

K-2 Field Trips

Explore the structures of flowers and the organisms that pollinate them. Help farmers solve the problem of vanishing pollinators by building a model that mimics how animals pollinate plants.

How can recycling methods be improved to reduce waste? Consider this important question by exploring how better sorting methods for recycling can aid in cutting back excess waste. Use Lego WeDo’s to create and program a device that will sort recyclables according to size and shape.

Inspired by the Three Little Pigs, construct houses that can withstand the Big Bad Wolf’s huffing and puffing. Test completed houses and vote on the most successful design.

To better understand how wind can shape the land, explore how wind can change the shape of a sand tower. Use a pile of sand and simple objects to design and test a windbreak that prevents erosion.

To Change or Not to Change… that is the question! Heat and cool different substances to gather evidence and discover whether changes are reversible. Discover how physical properties can help us determine which changes can be undone and which cannot.

Using your senses and scientific tools, investigate the characteristics of plants and animals living at Van Andel Institute for Education.

Working in groups, students will design and build ramps that allow marbles to roll, spin, and drop. The goal is to create a track that (safely) transports the ball to the bottom in a pre-determined amount of time!

The places where animals live are called habitats. All animals are specially adapted to live in their unique habitat. Their mouths are specially designed to eat the food that is available, their feet and legs are designed to walk or fly or swim where they live. Learn about different habitats and adaptations and use your knowledge to design your own new and uniquely adapted animal!

Sphero is starving! Learn the basics of coding using drawing. Create and execute a program that will guide Sphero to a tasty meal while avoiding predators and other dangers.

3-5 Field Trips

Observe and analyze plants and the animals that pollinate them. Engineer a hand pollinator that moves the most pollen.

Velcro, waterproofing, winter coats – what do all these things have in common? Their designs were inspired by plants and animals. Observe a variety of organisms and use what you learn to design your very own solution to everyday problems!

Learn the basics of electrical circuits and engineer your own conductivity tester to find the answer to the question, “What objects can transfer electricity?” With your newfound knowledge put the “A” (Art) in “STEAM” and create a conductive sculpture!

Firefighters need to know how to safely catch people and pets. Use knowledge of forces and motion to engineer a device to safely catch precious cargo.

Explore the stages of frog metamorphosis, from birth to adult. Using Lego WeDo, create and program a young frog, then observe and handle real frogs! Finally, use your observations to change your young Lego frog into an adult.

Use your senses and scientific tools to observe plants and animals to determine an answer to the question, “Are organisms more alike or more different?”

Investigate the physical adaptations of a variety of organisms to answer the question, “How do an organism’s structural traits help it survive in its environment?”

Investigate the behaviors of a variety of organisms to answer the question, “How do an organism’s behavioral traits help it survive in its environment?”

Learn how fossils are formed, discovered, and used to help us understand Earth’s past. Participate in a fossil dig and think and act like true paleontologists. Explore, ask questions, and find answers to the mysteries of prehistoric life.

The power has gone out! Work with your team to engineer a device that will help you to survive in the dark. Discover different ways to create a circuit and light a bulb!

A beloved VAI organism has gone missing! Luckily, the criminal left behind a mysterious powder. Utilizing physical and chemical properties, identify the substance left behind and link it to a suspect to help bring our organism home.

Invisible forces are all around us! Use understandings of magnetism to engineer a device that detects magnetic fields! Investigate the surface of the moon and discover where magnetic forces are the strongest and weakest. Discover the types of materials that are magnetic.

A massive storm has caused the widespread pollution of our drinking water! Learn how the earth naturally filters water, and work as a team to design and build a filter to clean the water so it is safe to use once again.

It’s a race to the finish line! Join our scientific pit crew and use your knowledge of magnetism to engineer a vehicle capable of levitation and movement on a magnetic track.

Using a variety of common materials, students design and test a nest that will hold the weight of a chicken egg. Students explore how birds in different environments build a nest for their eggs to survive.

Become a rocket scientist and design a rocket capable of landing on a far-off planet! Investigate how different variables affect the flight of a rocket and learn about aerodynamics, forces, and motion along the way!

Working in groups students will design and build ramps that allow marbles to roll, spin and drop. The goal is to create a track that (safely) transports the ball to the bottom in a pre-determined amount of time!

The places that animals live are called habitats. All animals are specially adapted to live in their unique habitat. Their mouths are specially designed to eat the food that is available, their feet and legs are designed to walk or fly or swim where they live. Learn about different habitats and adaptations and use your knowledge to design your own new and uniquely adapted animal!

Do you have what it takes to be a Mini Golf Master? Learn the basics of coding and program your own smart golf ball (Sphero BOLT) to putt your way to victory! Can you code your Sphero to hit a hole in one and take home the gold?

6-8 Field Trips

Engineers utilize large shake tables to test the ability of buildings to withstand various types of seismic waves generated by earthquakes. Become an engineer, build your own building, and evaluate how well various designs withstand seismic activity on our shake table!

Using Lego Mindstorms explore the world of coding and robotics. No experience? No problem! Learn the basics of block coding and create your own Lego robot to complete fun challenges.

Join the next generation of crime fighters. Learn skills and techniques that real forensic scientists use in the field, including fingerprinting, fiber analysis, and blood typing. Apply these new skills to solve a crime!

Model organisms are an important component of medical research. Observe levels of organization within plants and animals to discover similarites and differences. Hold plants and animals, create slides to view under a microscope, and extract DNA. Talk to a researcher about how and why model organisms are used in research.

A catastrophe has struck Grand Rapids! An oil pipline burst and is leaking oil into the Grand River, impacting both humans and wildlife. Use creative and critical thinking skills to stop the leak, cleanup the oil spill, and care for the affected animals.

Each year 1.2 trillion gallons of untreated sewage, stormwater, and industrial waste are dumped into United States’ waterways. These pollutants affect the health of many organisms. Explore the effects of different environmental contaminants on the heartrate of Daphnia.

Investigate energy flow through a food web by observing the eating preferences of organisms. Dissect an owl pellet to learn where an owl’s energy comes from and construct a bone diagram to take home.

One of the many challenges associated with space travel is the return to Earth. Using everyday materials design, build, and test a waterproof capsule that will protect astronauts as they splashdown on Earth!

Someone poisoned the food! VAI needs your help to figure out who is responsible. Analyze the stomach contents of the victims to determine the presence of lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and vitamins. Use that information to identify the culprit!

Design rockets and test multiple variables to learn how a rocket flies. Learn how Newton’s laws of motion play a part in rocketry and use this knowledge to land your rocket on a far-off planet!

Discover the world of neurobiology as students learn how distractions slow down their reaction time. Then they will dissect a sheep brain to identify the different parts of the brain and their functions.

Learn the basics of block coding using Sphero BOLT. Sphero needs your help navigating through a maze as quickly as possible! To complete this challenge, you will have to gather data, determine the best route, and figure out how to build a program so Sphero can successfully navigate the maze without getting lost!

9-12 Field Trips

Do you like bitter foods? Does coffee taste disgusting to you? This could be due to your genotype! Extract and amplify your own DNA, then utilize PCR and electrophoresis to determine your genotype for the PTC tasting trait.

Wind power has more than tripled over the past decade and is now the largest source of renewable energy in the country. Explore different variables that will maximize the efficiency of your own turbine.

Drugs are defined as any substance having physiological effects on the body. Discover these effects using the model organism, Daphnia. Assess the heartrate of the Daphnia after it has been exposed to common substances such as caffeine and alcohol.

Explore the challenges of living on Mars. Design, test, and build a solar water heater to be used on the red planet. Successfully heat water to shower where no one has showered before.

Drugs are defined as any substance having physiological effects on the body. Discover these effects using the model organism, C.Elegans. Assess the thrashing rate of the C. Elegans after it has been exposed to common substances such as caffeine and alcohol.

Robotics are a growing component of manufacturing. Behind all automation is an engineer coding and designing a robot to complete tasks. Working with Lego Mindstorm, program and design your own robot to complete a series of tasks!

Practice the skills of forensic scientists by identifying a DNA sample left behind at a crime scene. Learn to use a micropipette, set a gel, run DNA samples with the aid of electrophoresis, and analyze the results.

Discover how roller coasters work and then design your own marble roller coaster to see how energy transformation works! Developing a computational model, students will investigate energy and work in a closed system.

Become biomedical engineers as you design, create, and test a medical device that can measure a patient’s pulse. Learn about basic coding, how sensors gather data, how the human circulatory system works, and how your device can save lives!

Learn the basics of block coding using Sphero BOLT. Sphero needs your help navigating through a maze as quickly as possible! To complete this challenge, you will have to gather data, determine the best route, and figure out how to build to build a program so Sphero can successfully navigate the maze without getting lost!