ArtsBusXpress is a non-profit organization that connects San Diego County K-12 students to educational field trips to hundreds of arts, science, and cultural venues throughout the county. Since 2002, ArtsBusXpress has raised funds to underwrite school field trip Xperiences to STEAM-related venues throughout San Diego County. In 2020 during the pandemic, ArtsBusXpress (ABX) pivoted to pay instructors to provide Virtual Field Trip Xperiences for K-12 students. ABX continues to fund field trip Xperiences, with or without the bus! Many people assume that the funds for field trips are plentiful and made available through the school district budgets, but that is simply not the case. There is not enough money to go around. Without money to cover the transportation for in-person field trips or to pay venue instructors to lead virtual Xperiences, teachers have paid out of their own pockets or recruited parents to support field trip costs. First, teachers should not have to spend their time managing logistical arrangements like this; it's not their job. And second, both teachers and students often end up being disappointed on field trip day when it has to be canceled because a parent can't show up as promised. With many schools operating in virtual and hybrid modes, on-site field trips are slowly returning. However, Virtual Xperiences continue. And ArtsBusXpress is committed to funding both thanks to generous donations from individual and corporate donors!
