Arts and Crafts, Dramatic Play, Early Childhood Education, Science and Social Studies

We took a not-so-virtual field trip to New York City!

SarahVe

Field trips are a great way to learn new things, but we can’t always get to the places we want to learn about. Over the years I’ve taken my students, both in the classroom and at home, all over the world from the comfort of the classroom. We’ve floated through the canals of Venice, explored Martian landscape, and plunged to the depth of the sea. My secret? A little imagination, and… some help from YouTube 360 videos. You can find tours of just about any landmark or location! Simply go to YouTube, search for the place you want to visit, add 360 tour at the end, and boom! You’re ready to explore!

So if a field trip to New York City is out of the question for you too, I’d love for you to join us on this adventure to the Statue of Liberty!

Set the Scene

Before jumping in to our craft and dramatic play, we learned about New York and the Statue of Liberty. As always, we started with books. Here are our favorites:

  • Abuela by Arthur Dorros
  • Nelly Takes New York by Allison Pataki and Marya Myers
  • Why is the Statue of Liberty Green? By Martha E. H. Rustad
  • My Little Golden Book About The Statue of Liberty by Jen Arena
  • Emma’s Poem by Linda Glaser

After stories, we were ready for our craft.

A close up of a little girl who is holding a toilet paper tube which she is painting mint green.
Overhead view of the craft: on the left is a crown made of a paper plate. On the right is a torch made of a toilet paper tube and yellow and orange tissue paper.
A little hand is dipping a paintbrush into mint green paint. Behind the paint cup is a half-painted paper plate.

First we took old toilet paper tubes and painted them green. Once they were dry we added ripped up yellow and orange tissue paper to the top to create the flames. After this we cut up a paper plate, using the center to make the seven points of the crown. Then we assembled and painted the crown. We were ready for dramatic play!

Visiting the City

At this point, you can take a virtual tour of lady liberty. But this “field trip” works just as well with out any screen time! Sometimes we have a video in the background while we have our dramatic play time (like when we went to outer space). In this case, take the tour before jumping into your play.

Now it’s time to set up your own tour! If you have one available, drape a green sheet over your “statue” and have them wear the crown and hold the torch they made. If you’re in the classroom, you can have students take turns being the statue and see who can stand still the longest! The rest of the students can take turns being tourists and tour guides. You can print Statue of Liberty tickets in the free printable below!

Add a science element

I love adding as much science into our lessons as possible. It’s a great way to foster a love of learning from an early age!

To further understand why the Statue of Liberty is green, we did a little experiment:

First, we set out a tray lined with a paper towel. Then, we mimicked the sea water using vinegar and salt. (When performing this experiment, make sure the penny is exposed to oxygen and isn’t covered in vinegar.) The next day, our pennies were covered in light green malachite!

Perfect for a rainy day

Activities like these are perfect for a rainy day. If you need a simple learning opportunity for your littles that’s easy to put together with what you have on hand, I’d love for you to check out these resources! Below, you can find a free download of this dramatic play and craft resource, in addition to the Statue of Liberty mini lesson with the science experiment.

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