Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites

By Hannah Kiefer

Field trips are expensive. At the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, we are proud to offer free school field trips to Hoosier students around the state. Through this program each year, tens of thousands of students are able to experience our hands-on galleries and explore Indiana’s past, present and future at our locations around the state.

But, providing free field trips wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of incredible supporters of our school field trip fund.

Supporters of the 2018-2019 field trip fund included Red Gold, OneAmerica, the Indiana State Teachers Association (ISTA) and the Pacers Foundation, among others.

“Red Gold is an Indiana company that started its business by feeding the U.S. Army after the bombing of Pearl Harbor,” said David Halt, Red Gold Divisional Vice President of Foodservice. “We rely on superior programs like the Indiana State Museum field trips to keep the spirit and hardworking history of Indiana alive.”

OneAmerica’s assistant vice president of community affairs, Jennifer Pittman, said OneAmerica enjoys supporting teachers.

“The Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites (ISMHS) is a tremendous resource for educators to teach students about the Hoosier state, and ISMHS field trips provide an excellent interactive learning opportunity for children of all ages,” Pittman said. “OneAmerica is pleased to support the pre-K-12 education program as a field trip fund partner for the 2018-19 school year. Field trips are a great way for teachers to enhance their curriculum and allow students to explore beyond the classroom.”

ISTA President Teresa Meredith agreed, noting that providing free field trips is a huge asset for teachers.

“Field trips offer kids a hands-on learning experience that is remembered for years, but finding the funding for a school field trip can be overwhelming for educators and school districts,” Meredith said. “ISTA is excited to support the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites’ free field trip program to make field trips accessible and encourage life-long learning.”

Pacers Foundation Executive Director Bill Benner said the Pacers enjoy supporting the field trip fund and helping students experience Indiana of the past, present and future.

“The Pacers Foundation is proud to continue its long-standing support for the school trips to the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites,” Benner said. “We think it is vital for our Hoosier children to have both a sense of place and sense of our rich Indiana history and heritage.”

Other supporters to the school field trip fund include MacAllister Machinery and The Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County.

As we close out the season that’s all about giving, we want to thank all of our partners on the field trip fund. Every dollar helps, and we couldn’t do what we do without you.