The AT&T Virtual Field Trips Program Launches for the School Year
A collaboration between AT&T, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo Museum of Science, Explore & More, The Buffalo History Museum and the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center to offer free virtual field trips for local public and charter school students
BUFFALO, N.Y., Nov. 10, 2020 – School field trips bring excitement and the spirit of adventure to children of all ages. They complement classroom learning and instruction with wonderful experiences where students can see, touch and hear about subjects presented in school. Field trips provide memories that last a lifetime for students. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, traditional field trip visits to the world-class educational, art and cultural institutions in Western New York will not be possible during the 2020-2021 school year. To help alleviate the disappointment of local students and to add some normalcy to their unusual school year, AT&T, in collaboration with the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo Museum of Science, Explore & More – The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children’s Museum, The Buffalo History Museum and the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center have created the AT&T Virtual Field Trips program. This program will allow tens of thousands of students to experience free virtual field trips throughout Buffalo and Niagara Falls in a memorable, fun and safe way.
The AT&T Virtual Field Trips program provides both prerecorded videos and live virtual leader-led tours. Some of the programs offer downloadable materials for teachers and interactive kits for students. The program is designed to provide a wide array of offerings tailored for students of different ages, ranging from 1st through 12th grades. To help eliminate economic barriers and to foster inclusion, this unique program is provided free of charge for all students and classes that attend Buffalo or Niagara Falls public or charter schools and Western New York Title 1 schools. This program is made possible by a $75,000 contribution from AT&T and the generosity of the partnering cultural and educational institutions.
The Buffalo History Museum offers tours recommended for students in 4th through 6th grades. Each virtual field trip includes a live Zoom tour of two current exhibits with a member of the Museum’s education team. Tours must be booked in advance. The Buffalo History Museum has been Western New York’s premier historical organization since 1862. The history of Western New York is filled with stories of diverse people striving to create a place that they can call home. Stories brewing with ingenuity and hope, but fraught with struggle and conflict. The virtual tour will bring the past to life in a personal way-through intimate narratives of everyday people and key historical figures and provide participants opportunities to engage with real artifacts and primary sources, while connecting with subject matter experts to access unique resources of the museum.
Great art is transformational. The Albright-Knox invites teachers and students to join us for virtual experiences designed to support the development of the critical and creative thinkers of tomorrow. Opportunities include live virtual guided tours and pre-recorded videos that will serve as a teaching resource to focus on critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity. Students will discover works of art from the Albright-Knox’s collection and exhibitions through a range of learning strategies, including open-ended and guided questions, conversation, and activities.
The authentic stories shared at the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center highlight the extraordinary results that are achieved when ordinary people stand against oppression. On a live virtual field trip, museum educators will connect with classrooms remotely in real time. During a facilitated, interactive program, students will learn the history of the Underground Railroad in Niagara Falls while engaging in dialogue that will help them recognize the modern injustices that stem from slavery and think critically about what steps they can take to create a more equitable, just, and free society.
The Buffalo Museum of Science is ready to bring the wonder and excitement of the Museum to virtual classrooms! The Museum’s experienced facilitators will bring a unique educational experience and scientific expertise to students and educators. Whether participants are looking for an eye-popping science demonstration or a Behind-the-Scenes virtual tour, students and teachers can customize programming to suit specific needs and grade level. If school district guidance allows, kits can also be assembled and delivered to schools to give students immersive, hands-on experiences.
Children of all ages learn through exploration and grow through creativity. In this spirit, Explore & More invites young learners — the innovators of tomorrow — to “Explore, and More!” Explore & More has created seven (7) interactive videos that can be used together or individually by teachers. Each video includes a tour of one of the Educational Play Zones; a related activity and/or experiment that can easily be replicated by parents at home or teachers in school; and concludes by highlighting a STEM career. These tours are ideal for 3rd – 5th graders.
“Field trips are such an important component of every student’s education, providing enriching exposure to our world-class cultural institutions. While in-person class visits are not possible during the pandemic, virtual field trips are a terrific way to open the doors to our many museums and other cultural assets,” Mayor Byron W. Brown said. “Thank you to the cultural institutions which have embraced this creative way to offer field trips, and also to AT&T for once again stepping up as a community partner to make this new initiative possible.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has temporarily changed the way our children learn, but time and again our educators and our business leaders have stepped up to ensure that our students have access to new and innovative resources throughout remote learning,” said Senator Tim Kennedy. “As AT&T and Buffalo’s cultural institutions launch these interactive field trips, we’re seeing yet another example of these strong, creative partnerships encouraging them to continue to explore their city, albeit through a different lens.”
“Western New York has an extraordinarily rich history and legacy of achievement. Communicating the importance of that history and culture is more important than ever now that we remain distant from each other due to the public health risk posed by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Congressman Brian Higgins said. “This collaboration will allow some of our community’s most important cultural institutions to continue to connect with our young people to enrich our community’s knowledge and learning amid significant barriers to in-person visits.”
For more information on the AT&T Virtual Field Trips program and the various virtual educational tours and instructions on how to book a virtual leader-tour or to access the videos and virtual assets newly produced by the participating institutions, please visit https://exploreandmore.org/att-virtual-field-trips/. All other schools and districts across Western New York interested in participating in the video tours are welcome to use the program for their students.
“As thousands of local students are either following a distance learning or hybrid model as a result of Covid-19, we are proud to help provide this opportunity and support educators who are keeping our students connected and to help ensure students aren’t deprived of the educational experience field trips to museums provide,” said Amy Kramer, New York President AT&T. “We are thrilled to collaborate with these remarkable educational cultural institutions that are not just pillars of this community, but have also been enriching our children’s educations for generations, and AT&T is happy keep the spirt of these field trips alive for this year and provide students of all ages some sort of normalcy.”
AT&T’s support for this program is part of the Company’s legacy of supporting educational programs focused on STEM disciplines in New York and nationally through AT&T Aspire, the Company’s signature $600 million philanthropic initiative that drives innovation in education by bringing diverse resources to bear on the issue of education, including funding, technology, programing, employee volunteerism and mentoring. Aspire is one of the nation’s largest corporate commitments focused on school success and workforce readiness by creating new learning environments and educational delivery systems to help students succeed and prepare them to take on 21st century careers. The program also aligns with the Company’s AT&T Distance Learning and Family Connections Fund, a $10 million COVID-19 relief program launched to give parents, caregivers and teachers tools they need to educate students remotely.
“The Albright-Knox is delighted to be a part of this important program that brings new and thought-provoking learning experiences to students throughout Western New York,” said Albright-Knox Peggy Pierce Elfvin Director Janne Sirén. “We believe that interactions with art can be transformational for young minds and we are thrilled to be able to share our wonderful collection in this innovative way.”
“The Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center is thrilled to participate in the AT&T Virtual Field Trips program,” said Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center Interim Director of Education, Christine Bacon. “This is an amazing opportunity for students to be inspired by ordinary people who took extraordinary steps to overcome great obstacles. Now more than ever, we need stories like this to uplift us.”
“We are so honored to participate in this virtual field trip program,” said Melissa Brown, Executive Director, The Buffalo History Museum. “In providing these students the opportunity to learn about our region’s past, we hope that not only will they receive educational value, but find personal and meaningful connections to the people that came before them.”
“The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the need for elevated science literacy as well as continued access to STEM resources in schools,” says Marisa Wigglesworth, President and CEO, Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences. “The Buffalo Museum of Science is excited to continue engaging students in Buffalo and Niagara Falls through virtual tours and experiments that will inspire and encourage the STEM leaders of tomorrow. We are grateful to AT&T for making this wonderful program possible.”
“Through the AT&T Virtual Field Trip program we are able to keep the play alive. Our virtual field trips focus on STEM, an ever growing and critical field for children to embrace,” states Michelle Urbanczyk, Chief Executive Officer of Explore & More – The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Children’s Museum. “In doing STEM based activities and exposing children to experts like astronomists and veterinarians, we are hoping to show how exciting and fun a career in STEM can be.”
“Thank you to AT&T and our local historical, educational, and arts institutions for giving our students access to this extraordinary Virtual Field Trips program,” said Buffalo Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash. “The excitement and enrichment this program will bring to our students will spark their interests for a lifetime, and the virtual experience will help to fill the gap while essential in-person field trips are paused.”
“At this time, more than ever, our students need to experience the rich heritage and culture Western New York offers,” said Mark Laurrie, Superintendent, Niagara Falls CSD. “The ability to build a child’s background knowledge through a creative and interactive way is meeting the needs of young people in a cutting edge manner. The support of AT&T is a gift that will last long in the schema of the children of Niagara Falls.”
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About Philanthropy & Social Innovation at AT&T
AT&T Inc. is committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. We have a long history of investing in projects that create learning opportunities, promote academic and economic achievement, and address community needs. AT&T’s Aspire initiative uses innovation in education to drive student success in school and beyond. With a financial commitment of $600 million since 2008, AT&T is leveraging technology, relationships and social innovation to help all students make their biggest dreams a reality.
