Memphis Field Trips Guide

Field Trip Categories In And Around Memphis

Museums, Tours, And Local Landmarks

National Civil Rights Museum
The National Civil Rights Museum is built around the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Exhibitions begin long before that moment, tracing slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, boycotts, sit-ins, Freedom Rides, voting-rights campaigns and later struggles through artifacts, film and recreated environments. Visitors can look into Room 306 and across toward the boardinghouse from which the fatal shot was fired, making the final galleries emotionally intense. Middle and high school are the strongest school ages; younger elementary groups require careful preparation because of violence and injustice. The museum opened in 1991 after preservation efforts saved the motel from demolition and expanded significantly in 2014. Teachers should build time for reflection rather than rushing directly to the assassination site. The most effective field trips connect national movements with individual choices—organizers, students, workers and ordinary residents—not only famous leaders.
Street Address: 450 Mulberry St, Memphis, TN 38103
Web Address: https://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/

Pink Palace Museum
The Pink Palace name refers to the distinctive pink-marble mansion begun in the 1920s by Piggly Wiggly founder Clarence Saunders and later repurposed as part of Memphis' major museum complex. Today the institution operates as Memphis Museum of Science & History, so this listing should explain the historic building rather than pretend it is an unrelated museum. Visitors can study the mansion's grand architecture alongside exhibitions on regional history, science and Memphis commerce. Older elementary students can trace how supermarkets, cotton, transportation and urban growth shaped the city; younger children often connect with natural-history objects and planetarium programs elsewhere on the campus. The building never became Saunders' completed private home after his business fortunes collapsed, making its conversion to public use an unusual civic story. School groups should use the current MoSH schedule and gallery names, because 'Pink Palace Museum' survives strongly in local memory even as the official institutional branding has changed.
Street Address: 3050 Central Ave, Memphis, TN 38111
Web Address: https://moshmemphis.com/

Science, STEM, And Discovery

Memphis Museum of Science & History
Memphis Museum of Science & History, often known by its MoSH identity and historic Pink Palace campus, combines regional history, natural science, a planetarium and giant-screen theater. The mansion itself was begun by Clarence Saunders, founder of Piggly Wiggly, and later became a museum building after his financial collapse; that unusual origin is part of Memphis business history. Exhibits have long covered fossils, geology, local archaeology, health and the history of Memphis commerce and culture. Elementary and middle-school students can move between dinosaurs, science demonstrations and local objects, while high-school groups can use regional history and rotating exhibitions. The institution's naming and gallery arrangements have evolved, so teachers should check the current campus map and program calendar. Families should not miss the contrast between the mansion architecture and modern science facilities. A class can build a strong inquiry around how a private unfinished mansion became a public museum.
Street Address: 3050 Central Ave, Memphis, TN 38111
Web Address: https://moshmemphis.com/

Arts, Culture, And Performance

Stax Museum of American Soul Music
The Stax Museum stands on the original site of Stax Records, the Memphis label whose integrated house band and distinctive sound shaped American soul music. A reconstructed country church introduces gospel roots; exhibits then move through recording history, stage costumes, instruments, records and Isaac Hayes' flashy 1972 Cadillac. Stax operated from a converted movie theater beginning in the late 1950s, recording artists such as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave and Booker T. & the M.G.'s before the original company collapsed in 1975. The museum opened in 2003 as part of a neighborhood revitalization effort that also includes the Stax Music Academy. Upper elementary through high school can connect music with segregation, entrepreneurship and studio technology. Families should listen closely to recordings rather than treating objects as celebrity memorabilia. School groups can pair the museum with a rhythm or songwriting activity and ask how an integrated workplace functioned in a segregated city.
Street Address: 926 E McLemore Ave, Memphis, TN 38106
Web Address: https://staxmuseum.com/

Zoos, Aquariums, And Wildlife

Memphis Zoo
Memphis Zoo has occupied Overton Park since 1906 and now presents animals in large themed areas rather than the simple cages of its early years. Cat Country, Primate Canyon, the Northwest Passage and African exhibits allow students to compare habitat design and animal adaptations, while the zoo's conservation work can support lessons on endangered species. Its long history is itself useful: photographs of early exhibits can be contrasted with modern standards to discuss how public expectations for animal welfare changed. Preschool through middle school is the natural field-trip range, though high-school biology classes can focus on behavior, taxonomy and conservation. Families should prioritize keeper chats and active periods rather than trying to see every animal. Giant pandas, once a signature draw, returned to China in 2023, so outdated descriptions should not promise them. Teachers should verify current species, construction and school-program schedules before planning worksheets.
Street Address: 2000 Prentiss Pl, Memphis, TN 38112
Web Address: https://www.memphiszoo.org/

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