Fontana Field Trips Guide

Field Trip Categories In And Around Fontana

Museums, Tours, And Local Landmarks

Mary Vagle Nature Center
Mary Vagle Nature Center sits beside the Jurupa Hills at the edge of Fontana, where desert-influenced slopes, native plants, a pond, and trails provide a sharp contrast with surrounding suburban development. The center's exhibits and programs focus on local wildlife, geology, water, and the natural history of inland Southern California. Elementary groups can look for birds, insects, tracks, seeds, and adaptations to heat and drought; middle school students can compare hillside runoff, pond habitat, and human water use. The site is small enough for focused field investigation and can be more educational than a distant wilderness trip because students can see exactly where habitat meets roads and neighborhoods. Heat is a serious planning factor, so morning visits and cooler seasons are preferable for school groups.
Street Address: 11501 Cypress Ave, Fontana, CA 92337
Web Address: https://www.fontanaca.gov/320/Mary-Vagle-Nature-Center

History, Civics, And Heritage

Auto Club Speedway area motorsports history
The former Auto Club Speedway site in Fontana occupies land once used by the Kaiser Steel mill, linking two very different chapters of Inland Empire industry. The two-mile superspeedway opened in 1997 and hosted NASCAR and other major racing events for decades before portions of the property entered redevelopment and plans shifted toward a shorter track configuration. For middle and high school students, that changing landscape supports lessons in motorsports engineering, land reuse, economics, noise, transportation, and how large entertainment facilities age or are repurposed. This is not currently a conventional museum field trip, so teachers should not promise access to active racing facilities. The educational value lies in maps, archival race footage, industrial history, and observing how a massive former speedway property is being transformed over time.
Street Address: 9300 Cherry Ave, Fontana, CA 92335
Web Address: https://www.nascar.com/tracks/auto-club-speedway/

Science, STEM, And Discovery

Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center
Jurupa Mountains Discovery Center combines geology, paleontology, desert plants, and family science on a rocky site northwest of Riverside. Outdoor paths, dinosaur models, mineral displays, gardens, and hands-on programs encourage children to connect rocks and fossils with the landscape of inland Southern California. Elementary groups can compare mineral properties, fossil forms, and plant adaptations; middle school students can study faulting, sediment, erosion, and how paleontologists infer ancient environments. The center's informal style is part of its appeal, but school groups should arrange a specific program rather than expect the structure of a large natural-history museum. Families should prepare for outdoor heat and uneven terrain. A useful lesson is to compare a dramatic dinosaur model with the much smaller pieces of real evidence—teeth, bone fragments, tracks, and rock layers—from which scientists reconstruct prehistoric life.
Street Address: 7621 Granite Hill Dr, Jurupa Valley, CA 92509
Web Address: https://jmdc.org/

Lewis Library and Technology Center
Fontana's Lewis Library and Technology Center is a large civic library designed to support much more than book borrowing. Children's and teen areas, computer access, study spaces, community rooms, technology resources, and local programming make it a useful lesson in how contemporary libraries function as public learning infrastructure. Elementary groups can learn catalog navigation, source selection, and respectful use of shared spaces; middle and high school students can compare databases with open-web searching, investigate digital literacy, or study the building's role in providing technology access. Families should check current maker, homework, story, or cultural programs because those can turn a general visit into a focused experience. A strong school assignment asks students to locate the same topic in a book, database, and credible website and compare what each source does best.
Street Address: 8437 Sierra Ave, Fontana, CA 92335
Web Address: https://www.sbclib.org/LibraryLocations/FontanaLewisLibraryTechnologyCenter.aspx

Gardens, Parks, And Outdoor Learning

Fontana Park Aquatic Center
Fontana Park Aquatic Center can become a field laboratory for physics, health, and public-facility design rather than simply a swimming outing. Pools, water-play structures, slides, filtration systems, lifeguard stations, and accessibility features let older students discuss water treatment, buoyancy, friction, flow rates, safety engineering, and how municipalities operate recreation facilities. Younger children can practice water safety and observe floating versus sinking under qualified supervision. Because this is an active aquatic facility, school use depends heavily on current group policies, swim requirements, staffing, and seasonal schedules; teachers must confirm these details before planning. A non-swimming class can still study the site from a design perspective, mapping how shallow areas, barriers, signage, and lifeguard sight lines reduce risk for different age groups.
Street Address: 15610 Summit Ave, Fontana, CA 92336
Web Address: https://www.fontanaca.gov/607/Fontana-Park-Aquatic-Center

Return to the Teachtopia Field Trip Finder to browse more city guides.