“The Educational Value of Field Trips,” an article and study done by faculty and researchers at the University of Arkansas offers some enlightenment into the benefits of school visits to cultural institutions like a museum. Using the newly opened Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, researchers were able to gauge the impact a museum experience had on students of all ages. Here is what they discovered:
“Students randomly assigned to receive a school tour of an art museum experience improvements in their knowledge of and ability to think critically about art, display stronger historical empathy, develop higher tolerance, and are more likely to visit such cultural institutions as art museums in the future.”