Arizona Capitol Museum presents a virtual field trip for Arizona students
PHOENIX – The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented students from visiting the Arizona Capitol Museum in the 2020-21 academic year, and during this time museum staff have developed an interactive virtual field trip. The museum has been sharing Arizona’s governmental, political, social, and cultural past since 1979, with more than 20,000 K-12 students visiting annually. The museum tour path aligns with Arizona social studies standards with a focus on third and eighth grade state government and civics standards.
"The Capitol Museum's Virtual Field Trip Program helps bring the museum and state government to the classroom. Our hope is that this virtual tour will also expand our education program and reach students outside of Maricopa County," said Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs.
The program is offered free of charge and consists of recordings that follow Arizona’s journey from westward expansion through statehood, the Arizona legislative process, and more. Additional components of the field trip include pre- and post-tour activities and an opportunity to interact with a museum educator through a live Q&A or a digital question form.
The Arizona Capitol Museum Virtual Field Trip can be customized to meet specific classroom needs through the Google Classroom platform. Educators can pick and choose which videos, resources, and assignments will work best for their class to supplement the museum tour video. Examples of additional assignments include an introduction booklet and a Constitutional Convention activity to use in tandem with the tour video. Alternative viewing options are available for educators who do not wish to use Google Classroom.
Additionally, the museum provided Digital Access Kits to Yuma and Apache County Libraries which include laptops, projectors, microphones, speakers, and more. The Yuma County kits also have Wi-Fi hot spots. Teachers in these counties can contact their county library to check out a kit for use in the classroom.
Requests to book a virtual field trip are available through the museum website. For more information, please visit: https://azlibrary.gov/azcm/educator-resources
This project is supported by the Arizona State Library, Archives & Public Records, a division of the Secretary of State, with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The Arizona Capitol Museum is temporarily closed to the public in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Arizona. Please check azlibrary.gov/azcm for more information on the museum’s virtual programming and gift shop.
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