Friday Field Trips

Every Friday during the school year, Carmel students and educators leave campus and take their learning into the larger community. Field trips are a regular part of life at Carmel, with experiences ranging from museums, libraries, nature preserves, farms, and the zoo to canoeing, apple picking, cultural experiences, and other destinations throughout the area. At least once a month, students venture into Chicago, and once a month they spend time volunteering within the community.

These Fridays offer much more than a change of scenery. By regularly spending time beyond campus, students learn how to comfortably and respectfully move through the world around them. They practice staying aware of their surroundings, following safety expectations, navigating public spaces, interacting with people of different ages and backgrounds, and recognizing how their own actions affect others.

Community service adds another important dimension. Students learn that being part of a community means contributing to it, developing empathy and an awareness of the needs of people beyond their immediate school community.

Families are an important part of these experiences as well, frequently volunteering to chaperone, drive, and share the day with students and educators.

At Carmel, the community is an extension of the classroom—and learning how to be part of it is an important part of growing up.

CMA FIELD TRIPS 2025-2026

• Bike Hike

• Community Service

• Brookfield Zoo (twice a year)

• Red Oak Nature Center

• Jonamac Orchard

• Kline Creek Farm

• Mexican Museum of Art

• Shedd Aquarium

• Field Museum of Chicago (twice a year)

• Museum of Science and Industry

• Art Institute of Chicago

• Fermi Lab

• Jurica-Suchy Nature Center

• Chicago Botanical Gardens

• Peggy Notabert Nature Center

• Philips Park

• Fullersburg Nature Center

• Lincoln Park Zoo

  Please note that the Science Theme this year is Biology.