Beyond the Classroom: Field Trips for Students

Go Beyond the Classroom to connect school curriculum and engage students in learning through the arts!

Beyond the Classroom’s daytime performances for students pre-K through high school feature productions by outstanding national and local performing arts companies that bring literature and music to life. Aligned with many Wisconsin DPI standards, these live performances will enrich and enhance your students educational experience.

MAKE YOUR GROUP RESERVATION TODAY!
To reserve your tickets, fill out this form online. Individual tickets and tickets for homeschool groups also available. TICKET PRICES: $10/ticket for 10am, $8/ticket for Noon, Groups of less than 10 are $15/ticket. One free chaperone ticket for every 10 paid students. Please review our policies and procedures before placing your order. Please note that all performances, dates, times, and artists are subject to change. 

A limited number of scholarship tickets are available for schools with over 50% free and reduced price lunch. For questions or more information contact our Education Manager at 262-373-5023 or email education@wilson-center.com.

 

See below for our 2024/25 School Year Season of Performances

Peter Rabbit and Friends: October 23, 2024

Chicago Children’s Theatre – Running Time: 60 minutes

Four favorite Beatrix Potter stories, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tailor of Gloucestor, The Tale of Jeremy Fisher, and The Tale of Tom Kitten, come to life in this mesmerizing puppet show, complete with Potter’s original text and live, original music. Various instruments, such as mandolin, violin, toy piano, and banjo, create the score and melodies behind each story.  The set is filled with dynamic suitcases and trunks where levers are pulled and cranks are turned to reveal images that surprise and delight. Three charming performers interweave classic narration and puppetry with gentle interactive moments, recruiting the audience to join the adventure and encouraging young watchers to think about these iconic animal characters’ big emotions.

Recommended for grades K-5
Curriculum Connections: Language Arts, Literature, Vocabulary, Spelling, Creative Writing

The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System: February 12, 2025

10am or Noon • Theaterworks USA – Running Time: 60 minutes

When the class gets lost on the way to the planetarium,
Ms. Frizzle saves the day by blasting into outer space for an epic interplanetary field trip!  But when rivalries both old and new threaten to tear the students apart, our young heroes must learn to pull together or risk getting forever lost in the solar system. Hop on the Magic School Bus for a ride in this new musical adaptation based on the original book series published by Scholastic.

Recommended for grades K-5
Curriculum Connections • Communication, Language Arts, Music, Science, Social Studies

Cinderella: January 15, 2025

10am or Noon • Florentine Opera – Running Time: 60 minutes

The Florentine Opera has an extended and rich history of making the art of Opera accessible and enjoyable for students of all ages. Children will be entertained by the bright costumes, humorous antics and the familiar story of Cinderella, all while being exposed to a multi-disciplinary art that helps students develop intelligence in a variety of areas, including abstract thinking and problem solving. This version of Cinderella includes music from Viardot, Massenet and Rossini and is performed in French, Italian and English.  The dialogue is in English and serves as translations for the students so they can easily follow along.  A special teaching resource guide from the Florentine will also be available in advance of this performance for ticket holders.

Recommended for grades K-8
Curriculum Connections: Fine Arts, Music, Language Arts, Art History

The Giver: February 20, 2025

10am or 12:30pm • Literature to Life – Running Time: 75 minutes

Watch an extended excerpt from Literature to Life’s One-Person performance of THE GIVER here.

This Newberry Award winning book is brought to life through innovative and acclaimed theater company Literature to Life. Join this theater company on their mission “to perform great books that inspire young people to read and become authors of their own lives.” The Literature to Life theater company will provide an experience for growing minds unlike any other, opening and closing the show with engaging conversation lead by an Education Artist. The main show features a unique solo-performance where the actor engages in a dialogue between the young boy Jonas and his mentor, The Giver, performing as both characters. As Jonas trains to become the Receiver of Memories, the buried truth about the world that he was born into becomes hauntingly clear to both Jonas and the audience. A special teaching resource guide from Literature to Life will also be available in advance of this performance for ticket holders.

Recommended for grades: 5-12
Curriculum Connections: Literature, Social Studies

The Gruffalo’s Child: March 13, 2025

10am or Noon • Tall Stories – Running Time: 55 minutes

Follow the Gruffalo’s Child on her adventurous mission in Tall Stories’ enchanting adaptation of the much-loved picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. One wild and windy night, the Gruffalo’s child ignores her father’s warnings about the Big Bad Mouse and tiptoes into the deep dark wood. She follows snowy tracks and encounters mysterious creatures – But the Big Bad Mouse doesn’t really exist… does he? Let your imagination run wild with songs, laughs and scary fun for everyone aged 3 to 103.

Recommended for Grades Pre-K – 5
Curriculum Connections: Problem-solving, Independent Thinking, Spoken Language, Music