Salt Lake City Field Trips Guide

Field Trip Categories In And Around Salt Lake City

History, Civics, And Heritage

Natural History Museum of Utah
The Natural History Museum of Utah sits at the edge of the Wasatch foothills in the copper-clad Rio Tinto Center, a building whose terraced form echoes Utah's geology. Inside, the Past Worlds gallery displays an exceptional dinosaur collection drawn from fossil-rich Utah, including large mounted skeletons and a visible preparation lab; other galleries cover geology, Great Salt Lake ecology, Native peoples and Utah's biological diversity. The museum's location makes the transition from urban valley to mountain landscape visible through its windows. Elementary students can focus on fossils and rock layers, while middle and high school groups can connect plate tectonics, desert environments and paleontology to specific Utah sites. The Native Voices gallery was developed with tribal consultation and should be treated as contemporary cultural interpretation, not only archaeology. A school visit works especially well when students choose one Utah landscape and trace its story through rocks, organisms and human use.
Street Address: 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108
Web Address: https://nhmu.utah.edu/

Utah State Capitol
Utah's State Capitol crowns Capitol Hill above Salt Lake City and was completed in 1916 in a monumental Neoclassical style. The rotunda, marble interiors, murals and legislative chambers give students a clear example of how state governments use architecture to project permanence and civic authority. Exhibits and tours interpret Utah's territorial period, 1896 statehood and the functions of the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Upper elementary groups can focus on symbols and the lawmaking process; middle and high school students can connect statehood to national debates over federal power, suffrage and religion. The hilltop grounds also provide a broad view of the Salt Lake Valley, useful for geography and urban-growth discussion. Because the building remains an active seat of government, school tours should be reserved and timed to the legislative calendar if students hope to observe present-day civic activity.
Street Address: 350 N State St, Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Web Address: https://utahstatecapitol.utah.gov/

Science, STEM, And Discovery

Clark Planetarium
Clark Planetarium combines free interactive space-science exhibits with ticketed dome and giant-screen shows in downtown Salt Lake City. The Hansen Dome Theatre surrounds audiences with astronomical imagery, while hands-on displays include meteorites, planetary-surface models and exhibits on orbital motion, gravity and space exploration. A real meteorite students can touch or closely examine makes the connection between distant solar-system bodies and physical evidence immediate. Elementary groups benefit from age-appropriate constellation or planet shows; middle and high school students can use the exhibits to discuss spectroscopy, scale and why weight changes on different worlds even though mass does not. Because the exhibit floor and theater programs are separate experiences, schools should select a specific show rather than treating it as an optional add-on. The planetarium's downtown location makes it easy to combine with a state-capitol or city-planning field trip.
Street Address: 110 S 400 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Web Address: https://slco.org/clark-planetarium/

Gardens, Parks, And Outdoor Learning

This Is The Place Heritage Park
This Is the Place Heritage Park commemorates the arrival of Brigham Young's Mormon pioneer company in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, but the site's reconstructed village can also support a broader study of nineteenth-century Utah. Historic and replica buildings house demonstrations of blacksmithing, printing, farming and domestic crafts, while interpreters portray aspects of pioneer life. The park's name comes from the traditional phrase attributed to Young when he viewed the valley. Upper elementary students often enjoy the hands-on trades and transportation; older students should widen the narrative to include Ute, Shoshone and other Native peoples already connected to the region, Mexican-era context and the conflicts surrounding settlement. Because the park uses living-history performance, teachers can ask students which details are based on documents and which are interpretive choices. Seasonal schedules affect demonstrations, train rides and other activities, so field trips should confirm what will be operating.
Street Address: 2601 E Sunnyside Ave, Salt Lake City, UT 84108
Web Address: https://www.thisistheplace.org/

Red Butte Garden
Red Butte Garden is a 100-acre botanical garden and arboretum at the University of Utah, with cultivated gardens opening directly into foothill natural areas. Collections include a fragrance garden, medicinal garden, rose garden, water-conservation landscapes and extensive spring bulbs, while trails continue into native scrub and canyon vegetation. That transition makes the garden especially useful for comparing horticulture with the Wasatch foothills' natural plant communities. Elementary students can study pollinators, seeds and sensory traits; middle and high school groups can examine drought tolerance, fire ecology and why introduced ornamental plants need different amounts of irrigation. The garden is known for spectacular spring bloom, but the arid-landscape sections may be more relevant to year-round science. Because slopes and heat can be significant, school groups should choose a route based on age and season rather than trying to reach every collection.
Street Address: 300 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108
Web Address: https://redbuttegarden.org/

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