Los Angeles Field Trip Guide

Our Los Angeles field trip guide is the collaboration with LAwithKids.com.  When you are searching for field trip ideas, the Teachtopia field trip guide is the place to go.  In a major city like Los Angeles, several of the field trips have costs including  parking fees, admission fees, as well as additional charges once you are at the attraction. For LA field trips, research before hand including identifying parking and tranportation choices is essential. While this field trip guide to LA is your best means of getting information of Los Angeles Field Trips, we cant overemphasize the importance of checking out the venue beforehand.

Los Angles Museums and Zoos

There are wonderful museums and zoos in the LA area.

African American Museum (CAAM)
600 State Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90037
Cost for family field trips: Free.
Parking Fee: While accessible through rail, the parking fee is 20 dollars. (as of 9/6/2025)
Cost for school Field Trips: Field trips must be arranged in advance and have no fee.  What makes the California African American Museum (CAAM) a great field trip is that the exhibits changes on a regular basis. Topics have included Visual Artists, History, Political Activism, Literature, and more.
website: caamuseum.org

Aquarium of the Pacific 100 Aquarium Way, Long Beach, CA 90802 Cost for family field trips: Admission prices vary, so families should check the Aquarium’s website before visiting. Parking fee is $8.00 for the day with Aquarium validation. Cost Cost for school field trips: School field trips must be arranged in advance. Self-guided school field trips are currently $10 per participant, with a minimum of 10 participants. Eligible schools may apply for scholarships that can provide free admission, but transportation is not included. What makes the Aquarium of the Pacific a great field trip is that students can explore marine life from the Pacific Ocean through hands-on and visual learning experiences. Exhibits include sea otters, sharks, penguins, sea jellies, tropical fish, tidepool animals, and more than 12,000 animals. Students can connect classroom science lessons to real ocean habitats, animal adaptations, conservation, and environmental stewardship. website: aquariumofpacific.org

Chinese American Museum
425 N Los Angeles St, Los Angeles, CA 90012 Parking Fee: Union Station is accross the street for public transportation. Parking fee vary signifantly in DTLA.
Cost for family field trips: free, but donations are recommended. Cost for school field trips: free, but recommended donation of 7 to 10 dollars.
This museum is in an area called El Pueblo de Los Angeles.  This Mexican themed a called Olvera Street is adjacent to the larger China Town.
website: camla.org/

Craft Contemporary
5814 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Cost for families: This museum is 7 to 9 dollars and children 12 and under free. Monday through Saturday.  Sunday is “Pay what you can” This museum is strategically located right down the street from the Pedersen Automotive Museum and literally across the street from both LACMA and the La Brea Tar Pits. This museum is an art museum with an array of different type of art. website: craftcontemporary.org

Fowler Museum
308 Charles E Young Dr N, Los Angeles, CA 90024Cost for Family field trips: Free with a fee for parking at UCLA
Cost for School field trips: Free
The Fowler Museum is located in the heart of UCLA campus, has not cost of admission, and has incredible art from around the world on display. website: fowler.ucla.edu

Getty Center
1200 Getty Center Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90049
Cost for family field trips: Free with a fee for parking $25 (as of 9/16/2025) at the Getty Center. Note: Parking price does descrease at 3pm)
Cost for School Field trips: Free
The Getty Center is an amazing Museum that truly has enough to provide ten field trips worth of content. From the tram ride up the hill to the large garden area the Getty Museum is incredible art and a whole lot more.
website: www.getty.edu

Getty Villa
17985 Pacific Coast Hwy, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Cost: School Field Trips are free.
Cost for Families: Parking is $25 dollars and admission is free.
The Getty Villa is home to incredible art from Greece and Rome. It also has incredible landscaping and gardens.
website: www.getty.edu

Griffith Observatory
2800 E Observatory Rd, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Cost: While admission is free, there is an fee to see the observatory show.Cost for schools: School field trip admissions are free.  Public transportation is encouraged with limited and pricy parking on site. Their are remote shuttle near the Greek Theater if there is not a show that day.
The Griffith Observatory is as much about seeing true Los Angeles history as it is seeing a world class observatory and planetarium. There are field trip for student throughout the year.
website: griffithobservatory.org

Hammer Museum
10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Cost: No cost
The Hammer museum is world class art museum that is adjacent to the UCLA campus in Westwood.  It is operated by UCLA.
website: hammer.ucla.edu

Japanese American National Museum
100 N Central Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Cost for Families: Museum is closed for families until late 2026
Cost for School Field Trips: Museum is closed for families until late 2026.
The museum has a permanent exhibit documenting the history of Japanese internment camps in the United States.
website: www.janm.org/

Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036 Cost for Families: Adults 28 dollars with signficant discounts for LA county residents. Also a free program for LA country childre 17 and under whrere they could bring an adult with them also for free.
This is a very large Los Angeles Art Museum with someone tor everyone.
website: www.lacma.org

LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes
501 N Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Cost for Family visits: Free
Cost for School Field Trips: Title 1 Schools are free with reservation. 
If your school qualifies as a Title 1 school, then then the admission fees are waived. This field trip destination is great place to learn about Los Angeles history. This LA Museum not only has so much to see, but also has a great staff of professionals that make sure that children have a great experience when they visit this cultural center. website: lapca.org

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
250 S Grand Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (Main location)
152 North Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (Second Location)
There are two locations for MOCA in Los Angeles. website: MOCA.org

Museum of Latin American Art
628 Alamitos Ave, Long Beach, CA 90802
The art inside the museum and the sculptures garden outside the museum walls make this museum a most see.  There is always more than one exhibit representing Latin American Art. website: molaa.org

Museum of Tolerance
9786 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90035 Cost for Families: Age 5 and up 12.00 to 16.00 (verified 2025)
Cost for Schools:  Limited assistance may be provided for Title 1 Schools (verified 2025)
Many major cities within our country have field trip destinations that remind us of the Holocaust as well as try to teach tolerance. In Los Angeles there is both the Museum of Tolerance and to a lesser extent some of the content at the more diverse Skirball Cultural Center which addresses many aspects of Jewish History and Life. As a parent or teacher planning a field trip to the Museum of Tolerance it is important to understand that this is a serious field trip that discusses racism and tolerance yet also provides hope for the future. website: museumoftolerance.com

Natural History Museum
900 W Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007 The Natural history Museum has significantly more than could be seen in one day on a field trip.  Cost: 28 dollars for adults with discounts for LA Country residents. There is a nature lab, outdoor garden, gem collection, dinosaur remains and more.
website: nhm.org

Norton Simon Museum
411 W Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91105
A large and famous collection of global art in Pasadena. The Norton Simon will offer your field trip encounters with a large European and Asian collection of art.
website: nortonsimon.org

Page Museum (La Brea Tar Pits)
5801 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Prehistoric animals in Los Angeles are the focus of this museum. It is at the location where they do excavation for remains.
website:tarpits.org

Petersen Automotive Museum
6060 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036
An incredible automotive museum with a very large collection of cars consistently on display.
website: petersen.org

Skirball Cultural Center
2701 N Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90049
Jewish history and Jewish cultural museum in Los Angeles.
website: skirball.org

Travel Town Museum
5200 Zoo Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Cost: Free
This Train museum at the Gateway to Griffith Park’s entrance has many train cars and locomotives on display. There is also a train ride around the ground for a fee.
website: traveltown.org

USS Iowa Museum
250 S Harbor Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90731
If you want to go on a real battleship and learn about United States history at the same time, this is the place.  
website:https://pacificbattleship.com/

Los Angeles Parks and Gardens

There are several significant gardens including botanical gardens in the Los Angeles area.

Descanso Gardens
1418 Descanso Dr, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011
This garden is famous for its seasonal camellias bloom. (winter is the best period for camellias) The miniature passenger train ride is another highlight. Please make sure that the train is running prior to visiting. There is also a large garden railroad display to see. website: descanscogardens.org

Gardens of the World
2001 Thousand Oaks Blvd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
This garden is located right by the Thousand Oaks Cultural Center.  We recommend a visiting this garden before or after a matinee performance at the cultural center. We also recommend a visit to the also free nearby Thousand Oaks Botanical garden. website: gardensoftheworld.info

Griffith Park
Griffith Park is an extremely large park that happens contain a large zoo, gardens, train rides, a golf course, museums, concert venues and more. website: laparks.org/griffithpark/

Huntington Library and Gardens
1151 Oxford Rd, San Marino, CA 91108
While the Huntington is very famous for its extensive themed gardens there are also art galleries with significant American and European holdings, sculptures on display, and a display of historical books within the public facing section of the garden. A field trip to the Huntington might be focused on their indoor museum and not the gardens, so it is very important to plan with the Huntington the type of visit you are going to have. Los Angeles
website: https://huntingon.org

Los Angeles County Arboretum
301 N Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007
This is an incredible garden. Make sure you visit the greenhouses as well as the small lake.
website: arboretum.org

UCLA Botanical Garden
707 Tiverton Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Cost: Free
A field trip to UCLA should include a stop at the Botanical Gardens. There is an array of plants as well as water features.  website: https://www.botgard.ucla.edu/

Theme Parks Field Trips with Educational Programs

Going to a theme park as a field trip is a memorable experience that students will never forget.

Disneyland
1313 Disneyland Dr, Anaheim, CA 92802
Disneyland Field Trip offerings range from a general group rate trip to a specialized trip that could teach skills such as leadership, science, or music. The Disneyland Youth Education has offerings for students from elementary age through their Grad Night at Disneyland. website: disneyland.disney.go.com/

Knott’s Berry Farm
8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA 90620
Knott’s Berry Farm has an array of field trip offerings. A must see is the Independence Hall recreation directly across the street from the main park entrance.
website: knotts.com

Six Flags Magic Mountain
26101 Magic Mountain Pkwy, Valencia, CA 91355
Cost for field trips for families: Cost for field trips for school field trips:Six Flags Magic mountain field trips could be books to include topics related to Physics, Engineering, Math, Cartography, Art, Design, and Business skills. They also have group packages. website: https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain

Sea World, San Diego
500 Sea World Dr, San Diego, CA 92109
Seaworld has various education programs for families, schools, and groups. Seaworld also has a program that encourages teachers to visit.
website: seaworld.com

Universal Studios Hollywood
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608
Universal Studios has a Youth Education program that welcomes groups throughout the year. The Universal Studios Hollywood theme park has both an authentic tram tour of a movie studio as well as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. website: universalstudioshollywood.com