A Field Trip That Brings Civics to Life
Support Georgia Social Studies Standards Through Interactive Learning
Help your students connect classroom concepts to real-world action at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Through immersive exhibits, hands-on activities, and powerful stories of changemakers, students explore what it means to be informed, engaged citizens and discover how individuals can make a difference in their communities.
Whether you’re teaching local government, citizenship, constitutional principles, or the Civil Rights Movement, a field trip to the Center reinforces key Georgia Social Studies Standards while creating meaningful learning experiences students will remember long after they return to the classroom.
Why Teachers Choose the Center
Students will:
- Explore the rights and responsibilities of citizens
- Understand how democratic government works
- Analyze how individuals and groups have shaped society
- Examine historical and contemporary civic issues
- Practice critical thinking, empathy, and civic engagement
- Discover how their voices and actions can contribute to the common good
An Interactive Civics Experience
The Center helps students understand not only how democracy works, but how they can actively participate in it.
Learning Connections by Grade Level
Grades 3-5
Georgia's standards focus on:
- The rights and responsibilities of citizens
- The purpose and functions of local, state, and federal government
- Democratic principles and civic participation
- The U.S. Constitution and the expansion of voting rights
- The contributions of key leaders and movements in American history
- The Civil Rights Movement and its impact on society
- Understanding how individuals can create positive change in their communities
- Researching topics, analyzing information, and using evidence to support learning
Recommended Exhibits:
Change Agent Adventure
Students meet inspiring changemakers and discover how everyday actions can make a positive impact in their schools, communities, and beyond.
Action Lab
Hands-on activities encourage students to practice problem-solving, collaboration, and civic participation while exploring issues that affect their communities.
Civil Rights Gallery
Students explore the history of the American Civil Rights Movement and learn about the people and events that expanded freedom, equality, and voting rights in the United States.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection and Experiences
Students learn about Dr. King’s leadership, vision, and lasting impact on democracy, civic engagement, and social change.
Grades 6-8
Georgia's standards focus on:
- Citizenship and civic participation in democratic societies
- The rights and responsibilities of citizens
- How government systems impact individual freedoms and human rights
- The denial and expansion of civil rights throughout history
- Georgia’s role in the Civil Rights Movement
- The influence of historical leaders, organizations, and social movements
- Analyzing complex texts, multiple perspectives, and historical evidence
- Researching civic and social issues using credible sources
Recommended Exhibits:
Everyone, Everywhere: The Global Human Rights Movement
Students explore human rights issues across the globe and examine how governments, institutions, and citizens respond to injustice and inequality.
Civil Rights Gallery
Students investigate the people, organizations, events, and strategies that shaped the American Civil Rights Movement, including Georgia’s significant role in advancing civil rights.
Broken Promises: The Legacy of Reconstruction
Students examine how Reconstruction shaped the nation and explore how policies such as Jim Crow laws and disenfranchisement affected civil rights and citizenship.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection and Experiences
Students learn about Dr. King’s leadership, writings, and lasting influence on civic engagement, democratic participation, and social change.
Action Lab
Interactive experiences encourage students to connect historical movements to current issues and discover ways they can participate in their own communities.
Grades 9-12
Georgia's standards focus on:
- The role of the Freedmen’s Bureau during Reconstruction.
- The significance of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
- Black Codes, the Ku Klux Klan, and resistance to racial equality.
- The end of Reconstruction and its lasting consequences.
- School integration and Brown v. Board of Education.
- Civil rights legislation during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
- The growth, influence, and tactics of civil rights organizations and leaders.
- Martin Luther King, Jr., the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the “I Have a Dream” speech, and César Chávez.
Recommended Exhibits:
Broken Promises: The Legacy of Reconstruction
Students examine the legal and social changes of Reconstruction, the expansion of constitutional rights, and the organized resistance that limited racial equality.
Civil Rights Gallery
Students analyze the leaders, organizations, legislation, protest strategies, and media coverage that shaped the Civil Rights Movement.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection and Experiences
Primary materials and immersive experiences invite students to examine Dr. King’s ideas, leadership, writing, and influence within the broader movement.
Everyone, Everywhere: The Global Human Rights Movement
Students connect American civil rights history to international human rights movements and contemporary struggles for dignity, equality, and freedom.
Action Lab
Students consider how lessons from historical movements can inform civic engagement and action today.
Ready to Plan Your Visit?
Give your students an unforgettable learning experience that supports Georgia standards while inspiring curiosity, critical thinking, and civic engagement.
Submit an inquiry today to begin planning your field trip.