In-House Field Trips for Pre-Schoolers Powered by PNC Grow Up Great Program

YWCA Minneapolis delivers holistic, high-quality early childhood education to hundreds of kids in the Twin Cities. To help provide fun, interactive experiences, we host in-house field trips for preschoolers with help from our friends at the PNC Foundation.  

“Since 2004, PNC has supported high-quality early childhood education through PNC Grow Up Great, our signature philanthropic initiative,” said Deb Rohloff, PNC Foundation vice president, director of client & community relations – Minneapolis/St. Paul. “We are proud to support the excellent STEM programming at YWCA Minneapolis centers because they provide pre-kindergarten children with essential knowledge designed to help them succeed in school and life.” 

PNC Grow Up Great is a $500 million, multi-year and bilingual initiative that helps prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life. We rely on a grant from the program to provide in-house field trips for preschool children ages three to five at all five of our early childhood education centers.   

The grant from PNC enables us to work with The Science Crew, bringing hands-on STEM field trips to our preschool children. Field trip themes include Crazy Critters, which explores animals and the traits that help them thrive, and Electron Energy, which teaches the properties of electricity. 

“The children love having the Science Crew come,” said Catherine Mahler, director at YWCA Minneapolis Children’s Center Ecolab. “They are always very excited to share what they did and how it works. I feel that getting children excited and exposed to science experiences at a young age has the potential to create students that are excited to learn more about the world around them and how things work together.”  

Embracing Play to Prepare Kids for School 

Play-based learning has many benefits for preschool children. It can help with cognitive and physical development, foster social and emotional growth and lay the building blocks for lifelong learning skills. YWCA Minneapolis embraces play-based learning because it prepares kids to succeed in school.  

School readiness is a mindset that allows children to acclimate to and benefit from group learning contexts, requiring a certain adaptability and responsiveness to novelty and change to be successful. Research has shown that children who engage in play-based learning are well-prepared for kindergarten, developing adaptability and resilience that support their success in school (Fyffe et al., Early Childhood Education Journal). 

One in-house field trip focused on velocity and dynamics where kids designed planes. In addition to learning valuable STEM principles, the kids had a lot of fun, cheering as their creations zoomed through the classrooms. By combining STEM activities with play-based learning, we’re helping close the opportunity gap. 

Our Teachers Go Above and Beyond Basic Licensing 

As a NAEYC-accredited and Four-Star Parent Aware program, our teachers meet rigorous standards in preparation, child safety and child development. Your infant, toddler or preschooler is in good hands. 

"After a year of visits from the Science Crew, I feel more equipped to take on science in my classroom throughout the month,” said Ms. Skye, preschool teacher at YWCA Minneapolis Children’s Center South Minneapolis. “We regularly incorporate the five senses using language that the Science Crew introduced. The children are more excited to learn about science than ever now that they have the additional support, which helps us with classroom management." 

Delivering In-House Field Trips to Marginalized Communities 

At YWCA Minneapolis, we serve children from diverse communities of color; meeting community needs by intentionally employing staff that reflect the cultural, linguistic and racial diversity of children and families served. This helps model people of all backgrounds and cultures as role models and leaders.  

Last year, 73% of children enrolled were children of color, and over 60% lived in low-income houses. By leveraging an anti-bias curriculum and play-based learning, along with the generous support of corporate partners like the PNC Grow Up Great program, we give kids the tools to succeed at school and in life.  

Working Together to Close the Opportunity Gap 

Thanks to the generosity of our partner, PNC Foundation, we’re able to bring in-house field trips to our early childhood education centers, providing hands-on learning experiences that inspire curiosity and a love for discovery.  

Partnerships like these play a vital role in closing the opportunity gap, ensuring that children from all backgrounds can access the educational resources and experiences they need to thrive. We’re building a brighter future for our community’s youngest learners.