Governors Island Climate Action Quest School Field Trip

Embark on an immersive journey of climate action with Governors Island’s new Grade 6 school field trip program, free to New York City public schools.

Tour Highlights

  • Field trips are available Tuesdays–Fridays, October–November 2026 and April–June 2027
  • This is a full-day field trip, 9:30am–1:30pm
  • Field trips begin at the Battery Maritime Building in Lower Manhattan to board the ferry to Governors Island
  • Field trips are for 6th grade classes of up to 30 students from New York City public schools
  • Explore climate action with hands-on activities related to marine ecology, sustainable materials, living shorelines, and more!
  • Field trips are hosted by Turnstile Tours in partnership with the Trust for Governors Island and the Beam Center

Embark on an immersive journey of climate action with Governors Island’s new Grade 6 school field trip program, free to public schools and brought to you by the Trust for Governors Island, developed by the Beam Center and led by educators from Turnstile Tours.

The multi-stop, outdoor program features hands-on activities that showcase climate solutions that can be brought back to NYC classrooms and communities.

  • Continued Engagement: Return for hands-on learning opportunities with Billion Oyster Project, GrowNYC, Earth Matter, and more.
  • Unique Destination: Explore Governors Island, located a 7-minute ferry ride from Lower Manhattan and home to a growing community of partners accelerating equitable climate solutions for cities.
  • Climate Literacy: Build students’ capacity to analyze localized climate challenges, apply scientific vocabulary, and identify actionable solutions in their schools and communities.
  • Career Pathways: Offer exposure to the broad range of careers in the climate and sustainability fields.

Explore Themes Related to Climate

  • Climate science
  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • Electrifying transportation
  • Living shorelines
  • Waste to resource
  • Sustainable materials

This field trip is a program of the Trust for Governors Island with support from the Beam Center, operated by Turnstile Tours.

Tour Information

Booking a Field Trip

Field trips are offered free of charge to 6th grade classes in New York City public schools. 2026–27 is a pilot year for this program, so we do have a limited number of slots. Choose a date above, and our team will follow up with you to confirm all of the details for your visit.

We will attempt to accommodate any schedule changes within reason. If you have to cancel or reschedule due to an emergency, please contact us, and we will do our best to accommodate you.

WEATHER AND RAIN DATES: Because the field trip is held entirely outside, it is not practical to offer it when it is raining, snowing, or during extreme heat or cold. When confirming your booking, we will also set up an alternate rain date. If we need to move to the rain date, we will give you at least 48 hours notice. Rain dates should be scheduled at least two weeks after the original field trip date in order to make arrangements for transportation, permission slips, etc.

CANCELLATION AND RESCHEDULING: If your class needs to cancel or reschedule your field trip due to a foreseeable circumstance, we ask for at least 14 days advance notice. This notice allows us give sufficient notice to our educators, and gives other schools the opportunity to potentially take that time slot. We understand that unforeseen circumstances can arise, so if you have to cancel last minute, please just inform us as soon as you can, and we will do our best to reschedule you to a future date. Due to the high volume of demand, and the limited number of slots available, we cannot guarantee that last-minute cancellations will be rescheduled in the same school year.

Directions

Field trips begin at the Battery Maritime Building, located at 10 South Street in Lower Manhattan. Educators will meet your group there, and ferry tickets will be provided free of charge to all students, teachers, and chaperones.

SUBWAY: The ferry terminal is a short walk from the Whitehall (N,R) and South Ferry (1) subway stations. Bowling Green (4,5) is approximately a 10-minute walk away.

MTA BUS: The Battery Maritime Building is served by the M15, M20, and M55 buses.

SCHOOL BUS: School buses can pick up and drop off on South Street or Whitehall Street a short distance from the Battery Maritime Building. Please note that there is no bus parking in the local area.

FERRY: Groups may take NYC Ferry to Wall St-Pier 11, and it is 10-minute walk to the Battery Maritime Building. If you would like to take NYC Ferry from Brooklyn directly to Governors Island, it is possible to make those arrangements, but it does require some modifications to the itinerary. Please also note that we cannot provide complimentary tickets on NYC Ferry, and NYC Ferry does not accept OMNY or free/discounted student fares, so there will be a cost associated with transit option. We also cannot make arrangements for NYC Ferry ticket, but we can coordinate with you around the ferry schedule.

Groups coming from Staten Island may take the Staten Island ferry, and the terminal is a short distance from the Battery Maritime Building. You will have to exit the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and walk up South Street a short distance.

 

Accessibility

We strive to offer field trips that are accessible to all visitors. Please share any accessibility needs (e.g. physical mobility, communication access, special education needs, etc.) that your students or adults have for this field trip. You can contact us directly and/or include this information when booking, so that we can offer a fully accessible experience.

Please also note that during the field trip, we will walk approximately 1–1.5 miles, and we will be outside the entire time. We aim to lead the field trip on  accessible paths, but due to construction, weather, or other unforeseen circumstances, we may encounter uneven paths, obstructions, or steep inclines, so it is especially important that we be informed in advance of any mobility needs your group has.

Please visit our Accessibility Page for the most up-to-date information on all access accommodations.

About Governors Island

Gov­er­nors Island is a 172-acre island in the heart of New York Har­bor. Just min­utes from Low­er Man­hat­tan and the Brook­lyn water­front by fer­ry, the Island is a pop­u­lar and unique des­ti­na­tion with an award-win­ning park com­ple­ment­ed by dozens of his­toric build­ings, year-round edu­ca­tion­al and cul­tur­al facil­i­ties, a rich arts and cul­ture pro­gram and 22-acre Nation­al Mon­u­ment man­aged by the Nation­al Park Service.

Look­ing ahead, the long-term vision for Gov­er­nors Island focus­es on con­tin­u­ing to expand year-round pub­lic access by enliven­ing it with trans­for­ma­tive pub­lic art and cul­ture, extra­or­di­nary recre­ation­al and open space, and research and edu­ca­tion ded­i­cat­ed to address­ing the glob­al cli­mate cri­sis. With unpar­al­leled his­toric, nat­ur­al and water­front resources, Gov­er­nors Island is a vibrant and con­stant­ly evolv­ing resource for all New York­ers to enjoy.

Today three enti­ties act as stew­ards and advo­cates: the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island, the Nation­al Park Ser­vice and the Gov­er­nors Island Foun­da­tion (for­mer­ly the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island).

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