WHITE OAKS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLStudents from White Oaks Elementary School explore part of Pamplin Historical Park on April 18, 2024, as part of the trust’s history field trip grant program.
WHEN ERIN GILBERT and her colleagues at White Oaks Elementary School in Fairfax County, Virginia, planned their next year’s syllabus, they were excited that a beloved sixth grade field trip sidelined by COVID might return. They had no idea that their application to the Trust’s History Field Trip Grant Program, which helps fund student trips to historic sites, would push the program past a remarkable milestone: 50,000 children served.
In its own way, that milestone is as important as the more than 58,000 acres of battlefield land we have preserved. The Trust saves hallowed ground so that future generations can use it in learning American history at the places where it happened. Being there in person is an immersive experience that not only makes a lifelong impression but also enables students to understand the past and how history remains always relevant.
The History Field Trip Grant Program was conceived in 2014 and has grown steadily, underwritten by donations from Trust members, with nearly 800 trips now funded. It has sent schoolchildren to 205 historic sites in 43 states; more than 60 percent of affected classrooms across 37 states and the District of Columbia are in Title 1 schools.
Gilbert, her chaperones, and about 115 sixth graders boarded buses early in April for the 125-mile trip to Pamplin Historical Park in Petersburg, Virginia. The students were able to soak in the full measure of the 424-acre park’s heritage. They felt and heard the experience of battle in the park’s award-winning National Museum of the Civil War Soldier. They walked in the footsteps of the soldiers and saw the entrenchments they built during the monthslong Siege of Petersburg.
“We were thrilled to go back to Pamplin Park, a site that is always a huge hit with students because they get a powerful sense of connection with what ordinary people in the past went through,” said Gilbert. “The program helped make our journey more affordable and can help put memorable trips within reach for other schools too.”
Aligned with the Trust’s mission, the History Field Trip Grant Program allows K-12 educators to apply for funding to offset the cost of day trips to battlefields, museums, and other historical sites related to the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. Grants range from $250 to $3,000 and can be put toward transportation costs, admission fees, and reasonable stipends for presenters and guides. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis but must be received one month before the trip; funds are dispersed after the trip and upon receipt of the required forms and receipts. Full details and application materials are available at battlefields.org/fieldtrips.
Especially as we prepare to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary in 2026, I encourage you to share this opportunity with educators in your communities so that, together, we can help spread a love of and respect for the past in the places where it happened.
