News Release

Academy at C. F. Thomas fourth-graders travel to Waco and Austin on an Education in Action Discover Texas Field Trip

Fourth graders from Birdville ISD’s Academy at C. F. Thomas Elementary traveled to Waco and Austin on an Education in Action Discover Texas Field Trip May 16, 2018 to experience what they are learning in fourth grade Texas History. Students visited the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum and the Texas State Capitol and took part in “The Legends of Texas: The Experience”.

During the charter bus ride, students discussed why Texans are so proud of their unique heritage and participated in activities and games in preparation for their day. At the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, students learned the history of the Texas Rangers and explored exhibits about Texas’s earliest inhabitants and its many unique geographical regions. They then traveled to Austin to see the Texas State Capitol where their legislators, The Honorable Kelly Hancock, State Senator, District 9 and The Honorable Stephanie Klick, State Representative, District 91, office. Students saw first-hand where Texas laws are made as they toured the State Capitol including the Senate and House of Representatives chambers. The students then stepped back in time to life in the 1800s in Texas at historic Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farms Living History Museum with programming presented by Battle for Texas: The Experience. During this unique program designed exclusively for Education in Action’s Discover Texas Field Trip participants, students experienced life on actual homesteads from the 1820s-1860s, a musket-firing demonstration, an engaging Texas Revolution skit, and an interactive and up close look at rare Texas Revolution artifacts. In addition, students met a Texas settler and heard his stories and perspective about the Texas Revolution.

“Education in Action’s Discover Texas Field Trips are based on the understanding that the most effective way for students to learn is through experience,” stated Lacey Phillips, Discover Texas Field Trips Director. “Student activities during the Discover Texas Field Trip to Austin reinforce and supplement fourth grade Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) learning objectives with a focus on why Texans are so proud of their unique heritage.”

Education in Action’s Discover Texas Field Trips make it easy for teachers to take their 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade classrooms on organized, fun, and educational site-based learning experiences. Discover Texas Field Trip staff members handle all details, including round-trip charter bus transportation, reservations, and TEKS-based program curriculum, so participating teachers can focus on their students and making connections between the experience and what students are learning in the classroom.

In addition to Discover Texas Field Trips to Austin, San Antonio, Waco/Georgetown, Dallas, and Fort Worth, Education in Action also offers summer Lone Star Leadership Academy camps for outstanding 4th-8th graders. During the weeklong, overnight camps, participants experience significant Texas sites in Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin/San Antonio, or Houston/Galveston with Texas educators and a focus on leadership.

Discover Texas Field Trips are presented by Education in Action, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to fostering educated and involved young people. For more information about Education in Action visit www.educationinaction.org and www.facebook.com/educationinaction.