Derby Museum Offering Free Virtual Field Trip To 40 Classrooms Around The Country

With the stress of distance learning wearing on teachers and students in Kentuckiana and across the country, Kentucky Derby Museum is thrilled to give 40 teachers and their classrooms a free virtual field trip.

It is tradition for schools across Kentucky and Southern Indiana to visit the Kentucky Derby Museum for an annual field trip to explore the grounds of world-famous Churchill Downs, interact with two floors of Museum exhibits, and participate in educational programming. Now, the Museum is expanding its passion of teaching students about the history of the world's greatest horse race to classrooms across the country!

Forty teachers will receive a free virtual field trip which includes:
-Kentucky Derby related education program of his or her choice
-Churchill Downs All-Access Student Tour
-Kentucky Derby Museum Exhibits Tour
-Question and Answer Session

In a typical year, the Museum sees over 15,000 students a year on field trips. Due to the pandemic, the Museum's Education Team has not been able to conduct its highly sought after in-person field trips and has missed interacting with students inside the Museum and on tours at Churchill Downs. Virtual field trips have been an excellent way for the Education Team to connect with students and teach about the rich history of the Kentucky Derby.

To enter, teachers need to fill out this form online. Kentucky Derby Museum will choose at random, 20 local teachers from the Kentucky and Southern Indiana area, and 20 teachers from across the country.

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization feeling the economic effects of the pandemic, this giveaway has been made possible through generous donors of the city-wide Give for Good Louisville campaign this past fall, benefitting a number of local non-profit organizations.

Why study the Kentucky Derby?
The Kentucky Derby is important to study as the oldest continuously held sporting event in the United States. It is a cultural event, drawing over 160,000 people around the world with tens of millions of people watching on television. It is Kentucky's signature event, replete with traditions, legends and icons. It is a major economic event, with a $217 million impact on the region. The Museum's Education Team also helps students understand the roles of everyone involved in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing, including the horse, jockey, trainer, veterinarians, and grooms. The Education Team also teaches about the diversity involved in the Kentucky Derby's history, from female owners, trainers and jockeys to the African American jockeys who dominated the early days of the sport, and the Hispanic, Asian and Middle Eastern populations who also contribute greatly to the Derby story. The Education Team's work is made possible by generous donors and with support from University of Louisville, Equine Industry Program and Godolphin KIDS. All Museum educational programs are tailored to meet Core Academic Standards.

Sneak Peeks of our Virtual Field Trip offerings and Museum b-roll can be found here.