While class field trips are fun, funding the trips can be a challenge.

Kevin Melrose is a seventh-grade teacher and the chair of the social studies department at Westlane Middle School, part of MSD Washington Township.

"I think it's crucial just to get the kids outside," Melrose explained. "But the cost of transportation has risen astronomically."

I joined a group of 130 middle schoolers on their field trip to Fort Harrison State Park, and I got to witness firsthand the excitement.

From kids jumping over logs, to gazing over creeks and lakes, to peering in a tree cavern, there was never a moment when the students weren't engaging in their natural surroundings.

Melrose talked about some of the lessons his students learned from their visit.

"There's so many different Indiana historical

See Full Page