There's nothing like a field trip to get kids excited about going to school … and climbing on a bus to adventure time. Only these educational tours don't always go so swimmingly. In fact, sometimes they expose kids to things so wildly inappropriate that they end up as headlines on the national news.
What could be so bad about a trip to the local museum? From sex toys to pickled brains of former classmates, these controversial field trips prove that kids may be picking up some awfully strange experiences when they board that bus.
Wouldn't #2 traumatize your kid, too?
Image via Stuart Monk/shutterstock
Mortuary
In 2010, kids at Port Richmond High School took a science club field trip to the Staten Island Mortuary … which is creepy enough in itself. Then, the kids spotted a brain floating in a jar of formaldehyde that was labeled with a familiar name: Jesse Shipley, an old classmate of theirs who was killed in a car accident in 2005. Emotional mayhem ensued.
Shooting Range
Kids and guns just aren't a good mix … which is why some parents were irate to learn that kids at Craver Middle School in Colorado City took a field trip to a shooting range.
Casino
Second and third graders at Sacred Heart School in Moreauville, Louisiana took a field trip to Paragon Casino Resort. Granted, it was a Native American casino where they got a taste of culture, but considering gambling is both addictive and illegal for children, not the best choice of an adventure for little ones.
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Slavery Reenactment
In 2013, in an effort to teach kids about the history of slavery, seventh graders at Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy in Connecticut took a field trip to underground railroad reenactment where the kids were, well, treated like slaves — and even called the N-word. One African American child was so traumatized, her mother complained to the board of ed.
"Creationist" Museum
Did you know the world was created in seven days? And that dinosaurs and humans lived at the same time? Those are the kinds of "facts" third graders at Lincoln Elementary, a public school in Glendive, Montana learned during a field trip to a Creationist museum. Once it occurred to school officials that this was a constitutional violation to separate church and state, the trips were cancelled.
Sex Toy Shop
As the, er, climactic end to her month-long sex ed course, Starri Hedges — a teacher at the Gaia Democratic School in Minnesota — took her middle schoolers on a field trip to a sex toy shop called the Smitten Kitten. Er, we're all for giving kids some info beyond abstinence only, but aren't dildos and butt plugs a bit beyond 11-year-olds?
War Movie … for Boys Only
In 2013, boys at the Dallas Independent School District took a field trip to the movies to watch a war flick … and left the girls behind to watch a film about spelling bees. Because girls couldn't possibly be interested in war, right? Talk about gender stereotyping!
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College Tours ... for Blacks Only
In April, parents complained of the affirmative action overtones of a South Bend, Indiana school field trip to three local colleges. Why isn't a trip to a college a good thing for kids? Well, parents were upset because this trip was only for African Americans.
Toxic Waste Site
In 2012, kids at Kettleman City Elementary School may have been exposed to more than they bargained for during a field trip at a toxic waste plant. Parents weren't too enthused about the possibility their kids might start glowing in the dark or sprout a third arm.
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Hooters
After a field trip to the Baltimore Aquarium, eighth graders at Berwick Middle School got a gander at far more questionable sights over lunch at Hooters. While some parents objected, others weren't fazed, and claimed they take their kids there, too. "What's amusing is to see those lovely ladies gaga over our kids and spend less time with the oogling manbeasts," mentioned one parent.
To a Grocery Store Handing Out a Strange Gift
In 2008, a group of 8- and 9-year-old students took a field trip to Sainsbury's, a local grocery chain in England. Which is all fine and good, only the parting gift kids were given was not. Each student was handed a book titled Change The World For A Fiver, encouraging them to do small good deeds … like save water by bathing with a friend. The book also included illustrations of sex positions readers could try in the tub. Another tip? Hand your phone number five strangers on the street. Clearly not the kinda stuff we want our kids learning.
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