John C. Kunkel Elementary School's Jenna Riggs and her fourth-grade class in the Middletown Area School District recently headed to Gettysburg through a grant from the American Battlefield Trust's Field Trip Fund. The trip provided students with a hands-on history learning opportunity.

"The students are excited about seeing first hand the places we have been learning about," Riggs said before the trip. "They will get to experience the battlefield in a way that will allow them to make connections with what up until now they have only been able to read about."

The Field Trip Fund offers funding and assistance to kindergarten through 12-grade teachers planning field trips to Civil War, War of 1812, or Revolutionary War battlefields and related historic sites. Grants are awarded based on a competitive national application process. During the 2018-19 school year, more than 7,500 students from 24 states took part in programs through awarded grant funds.

The American Battlefield Trust is dedicated to preserving America's battlegrounds and educating the public about what happened there and why it matters today. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization has protected more than 54,000 acres associated with the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and Civil War.

"These kids get a chance to go to where history was made, where our country was created and defined," said Trust president David Duncan of Field Trip Fund recipients. "Battlefields are outdoor classrooms that will teach (young) Americans about our democratic republic."

The Trust hopes that through visiting preserved battlefields and walking in the footsteps of the citizen soldiers who fought there, the leaders of tomorrow receive a foundation of good citizenship. The Trust strives to produce excellent educational resources in a variety of formats for both educators and the public.

To learn more, visit http://www.battlefields.org.