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Rich Abrams

happy group of students in the woods

Top Summer Camp Educational Trips In 2017

By Uncategorized

Summer’s here!  But just because the sun is high in the sky, it doesn’t mean kids can’t continue learning, while enjoying the experience.  At Junior Tours, we’ve been creating trips and excursions that make education fun since 1967, including summer camp.

Our top summer camp educational trips in 2017 is a window into some of what’s available to young people keen to continue learning over the summer months.  There’s something for everyone and the diversity of experience will amaze you.

Language immersion.

Summertime keeners interested in learning a new language will be thrilled to know there’s a summer camp dedicated to just that.  With the world becoming increasingly small, young people who speak more than one language enjoy greater opportunities.

Concordia Language Villages offer 1 week and 6 week options for immersion learning, through the end of August.  Based in Moorhead, MN, students are treated to cultural as well as linguistic experiences.  Issued passports, camper are also given names which reflect the language they’re learning.

Kids can choose immersion in 15 languages, from Japanese to Arabic.

For budding diplomats.

In the Catskill Mountains, kids can learn diplomatic skills at the model United Nations camp.  With 3 1-week sessions offered between July 21 and August 10, students interact with professors and peace corps volunteers to learn about international relations and how they’re effectively managed.

With a different theme each week, students will connect with complex themes in diplomacy, from combating cyber warfare to global access to medical care.

Participants also enjoy a simulation of the World Trade Organization, in which such weighty matters are discussed on the international level.

Game and app design for the geeks.

Geek is the new mogul and kids with their dreams set on the world of coding and computing will fit right in at the National Computer Camps.

On three campuses located in Fairfield, CT, Atlanta, GA and Cleveland, OH, classes take place on various dates during the month of July.  Campers will learn how to produce 2D and 3D games, design an app for the Android mobile device and create digital videos.

Coding certification courses are also available for older, or more computer savvy campers.

Space – the final frontier.

Space Camp in Huntsville, AL runs from the beginning of June through the end of August.  Among it’s alumni are NASA astronauts.

Drawing on STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and math), students aged 9 to 18 learn to apply these within the context of the space program, with practical hands-on experiences.  They’ll also have an opportunity to apply their analytical skills to space mission findings and participate in simulations of mission control.

Junior Tours creates outstanding educational experiences for students.  Founded by a teacher, we’re committed to combining learning with fun, offering student groups exceptional trips and tours, tailored to educator vision.

These top summer camp educational trips in 2017 express some of the best learning opportunities available at US summer camps, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg.  Contact us.  Junior Tours makes the world your classroom.

a smiling female teacher in her classroom

Are Educational Travel Services Essential For Teachers?

By Uncategorized

Teachers are busy people.  Often, they’re overwhelmed by the demands of the job, which is absorbing, rewarding and exhausting in equal measure.  Doing a yeoman’s work both inside and outside the classroom, it makes sense that teachers source professional support when organizing a travel experience for their students. So, are educational travel services essential for teachers? 

At Junior Tours, we believe that to be the case.  Our company was established by a teacher who knew all about the demands of educating young people, so he envisioned a resource to support educational goals with a superior travel service.

50 years of excellence.        

Since 1967, Junior Tours has been bringing educators excellence in student trips and tours.  We’re celebrating 50 years of service in the sector, bringing teachers and students the very best in educational travel services.

For any curriculum, Junior Tours offers outstanding support for tours encompassing both learning and enjoyment, creating experiences for students they’ll talk about for years to come.

While you’re enjoying your tour with your students and helping them absorb as much as they possibly can, we’re taking care of the details.  We keep your itinerary on track, offering you a dedicated Tour Escort who’s with your 24 hours a day for the duration of your tour.

Professionally trained, our Tour Escorts sweat the small stuff, while you teach and support your students.

Only the very best.

Because we’ve been around for 50 years, Junior Tours brings you the very best in accommodations, offering you centralized, secure, premium hotels where you’ll rest easy after a long day of exploration and learning.

Every detail of your educational tour is planned with attention to detail, ensuring your students derive the most benefit, as we get you where you want to be.  Your ground, air and rail transportation is all taken care of, so you and your group ride in comfort.

Chaperones join your group free of charge, with one chaperone for every 20 students.  If that doesn’t work for you, we’ll recalibrate the ratio to ensure you get exactly what you need.

Junior Tours will customize your adventure to include workshops, museum visits, or excursions to other attractions that add educational interest and excitement to your tour.

Premium educational services.

We know teachers give their all to educating their young charges, so we offer premium educational services that honor your hard work.

Your educational goals are honored with personalized planning that gives your students a unique and detailed window into the subject of your tour.  From history to fashion, languages to business, we match your vision to tailored educational experiences your students will never forget.

Are educational travel services essential for teachers?  The people at Junior Tours know that a professionally planned and executed tour brings your students the very best learning experience available.

With 50 years of excellence behind us, we’re ready to create an unforgettable educational adventure for you and your students that will enhance your teaching objectives and cement student learning with exceptional experiences.

Contact us for a free quote and sample itinerary.

students on tour

Student Tours For Any Curriculum

By Uncategorized

Because Junior Tours was founded by a teacher in 1967, we know educators are looking for a student tour provider capable of fulfilling the needs of a wide variety of curricular interests.

Diversity is something we’re proud to offer teachers and students, with a wide range of destinations, featuring points of interest that cover all the educational bases.

From history to fashion, we’ve got you covered.  But we go further than bringing diversity to student tours.  We bring fine personalization that speaks to educator vision and student interests, customizing itineraries to your specifications.

Everything under the sun.

For students who plan on a career in the business world, our tours to New York City, Chicago and Atlanta put them in the center of the action.

From Wall Street to the Atlanta headquarters of CNN, to Chicago’s bustling business district, students discover how businesses operate at the very highest level.  With visits to attractions that inform and support their budding vocation, we take them directly to the top of the ladder.

Language students can find their feet in an immersive experience in Montreal, Quebec, where French has been spoken since the city’s founding.  The Cajun version of French can be encountered among local people in New Orleans, LA, where the language was brought by Acadians settlers, after leaving Canada.

The rich and vibrant history of the USA is all around us, but a tour with Junior is a living encounter, placing students on the battlefields of the Civil War at Gettysburg, or at the site of the Boston Tea Party in a city alive with the American story.

No matter what your students are studying, or what your educational goals are for them, Junior Tours’ extensive experience in the realm of educational travel shows your students what they need to see, as you enjoy a seamlessly executed tour.

The best of everything.

You, your students and chaperones (who join us free of charge) travel in comfort, with reliable air, rail and bus transportation, round trip.  There’s no need to rely on public transportation (unless that’s part of the experience you’re planning).  We’ll organize ground transportation for you, at your destination of choice.

Because of our long tenure in the sector, we have strong relationships with accommodations providers.  Central, with first class amenities, our roster of deluxe hotel providers sees your group enjoying a great night’s sleep once your busy day is done.

Junior Tours’ professionally trained Tour Escorts are with you and your group 24/7, bringing you destination expertise, energetic leadership and itinerary management that frees you to enjoy the adventure.

At Junior Tours, we offer student tours for any curriculum, customized to the needs and interests of your group.  When you go with Junior, you go with the very best.

We’re committed to offering educators and students exceptional educational tours that bring your curriculum to life.  With first class logistics and professional on-tour support, your group is treated to outstanding comfort, reliability and educational value you won’t find elsewhere.

Contact us for a free quote and sample itinerary.

piggy bank money

5 Great Ways For Kids to Raise Money For a School Trip

By Uncategorized

A key challenge for many parents is finding the funds to send their kids on a school trip.  But the great thing about fundraising for school trips is that it teaches kids important lessons about the economic realities of travel, as well as team work, cooperation and how to talk to people about contributing to their cause.

So, this post is dedicated to 5 great ways for kids to raise money for a school trip, including both new-fangled and old-fangled ways of raising the funds you need.

Old School fundraising.

There’s nothing like a bake sale, car wash, or yard sale to bring the parents to the schoolyard.  These traditional methods of raising funds for school trips gets everyone involved, bringing the community into the fold in common cause.

Parents can team up with their kids, creating a unique dynamic in which everyone puts their shoulder to the wheel to get the job done.  It’s a great lesson for kids and brings parents to the party in a real and positive way that makes a huge difference, cash wise and community wise.

Crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding is an exciting, new-fangled way to raise money for all manner of projects.  It can work for your school trip, too.  At Junior Tours, we particularly like the resource FundRazr.  It’s easy and free.

Your group gets a website to explain how the funds will go toward its school trip – a unique educational experience for them.  They (and parents), will have the opportunity to use social media like Facebook and Twitter to solicit funds.  It’s a fundraising technique ripe with outreach, consciousness-raising and learning opportunities.

Events.

Connect with a local business to create an event that invites the community to join the effort.  Find a business in the community that’s willing to match donated funds for greater impact.

The event might be a coffee house or a picnic, with a silent auction.  Inviting community and business participation raises your group’s and your school’s profile, as well.  You can even involve the trip participants in putting together a media release to alert local press and radio.

F2F.

F2F (face-to-face fundraising) is proven to be one of the most effective ways to raise money for any cause.  Organize your kids to go door to door, targeting neighbourhoods in the school’s catchment.  Kids at the door with a burning passion for going on an educational trip can net your group a very good source of funds.

While they’re door knocking, they’re learning lessons about persuasion and comportment that will serve them well in life.

Scratch cards.

Junior Tours proposes scratch cards as a high return fundraising strategy.  For 10 cents per card, students can offer these to friends and family.  Each box on the cards represents a donation of between .10 cents and $3.00, with each card rendering $150 in funds, once all boxes have been scratched off.

Since 1967, Junior Tours has been offering outstanding student educational travel experiences.  Contact us to request a free quote and sample itinerary.

early bird gets the worm

Some Compelling Reasons to Book Your Student Tour Early

By Travel

Book early. We all know that young people love spontaneity, but student tours don’t particularly lend themselves to playing it by ear.  Student tours require fine planning, logistics expertise, and exacting execution. Thinking ahead gives you time, selection and savings that keep your budget in check.

In this post, we’re going to share some key reasons to book your student tour early.  Because we’re a student tour planning company, we know our clients benefit enormously when they book ahead.  Let’s see why the early bird really does get the worm.

Payment plans.

Booking early means you have time to reach your fundraising goals in support of your trip.  You have more time to set up fundraising activities and events with your group and to raise awareness about the tour.  As fundraising bears fruit, you pay over time.

Booking early can also give parents who don’t have money immediately available time to save, so their child is included.

Building anticipation.

Early booking gives you room to build group anticipation.  It also gives you needed time to get buy in from parents who may be nervous about sending their child off on a tour.

Your tour will book almost organically, as word of mouth takes over and your group’s plans go viral.  As you release itinerary details in the run up to the tour, you’ll see it fill up and before you know it, booked solid.

More selection and availability.

Book early, especially if you’re planning a student tour during high volume travel periods, booking early means you get the best selection and availability.  Junior Tours’ relationships with top accommodations vendors in the most popular student tour destinations mean you get the best, but having more time means you get the best of the best.

Booking early means you’ll have access to the very best of premier hotels and attractions, because you’re first in line.

Save money!

Booking a student tour early (as more and more people are finding out) means that your group’s budget stays tight.

When you book a tour at the last minute, low availability impacts price (especially during those costly high traffic periods).  Early booking not only gets you the widest selection in terms of scheduling and hotel quality and location – you save money, too.  And that makes everyone happy.

Junior Tours.

Junior Tours has been planning and executing student tours since 1967.  Founded by a teacher, our emphasis is on quality educational experiences for your students.  We bring you professional logistics expertise that recognizes the purpose and focus of your tour, while giving your students an unforgettable experience.

These reasons to book your student tour early point out why the early bird gets the worm and a whole lot more.  The early bird also gets the best flights, programming, and accommodation vendors for a superior price, while allowing sufficient time for anticipation and fundraising dollars to build up.

At Junior Tours, we’d thought you’d like to know all that.  Ready to book?  Contact us to request an itinerary and quote.

hand writing Time to plan

How Student Tours Work: Planning and Executing

By Travel

Planning a student tour is easy with Junior Tours.  We work to educator vision of learning objectives for your student tour group, defining it with our decades of experience in the sector.

Since 1967, we’ve been the teacher’s choice for tours which have taken over 500,000 students to destinations all over the USA.

Let’s talk about how student tours work:  planning and executing.  With Junior Tours, they’re a cinch.

Planning the perfect student tour.

Contacting us for a sample itinerary and quotation is your first move.  One of our Junior’s planning experts will contact you within 72 hours when you fill out our online form, to discuss your goals for the tour.

Once you’ve nailed down your itinerary, tour duration and other details, we’ll provide you with suggestions for enhancement through tailored experiences to make your tour group’s adventure even more valuable.

Here’s where you set up your fundraising efforts.  Junior Tours provides you with an array of fundraising resources to help you raise the money you need to cover tour expenses.  We know your group has a budget and we help you work within it.  There’s even a student scholarship option, worth up to $1,000 per student applying.

The sooner you start promoting your tour to students, the more successful it will be.  Junior has online resources to help you with that, too, including a simple tool for setting up a tour website.

Executing your tour.

Now that the planning’s done, it’s time to enjoy your experience.  Your group gets 24/7 support with a dedicated Tour Guide who ensures that your tour is realized seamlessly, down to the finest detail.

You and your students enjoy the adventure and excitement of visiting the destinations on your tour, while Junior Tours sweats the details.  We focus solely on your group.  We don’t combine groups, or add people to your tour you don’t know.  With Junior Tours, we provide a boutique experience that’s entirely focused on your group.

Junior is there for the duration of the tour to ensure that you and your students have the most valuable experience possible.

Student tours with the best.

No matter where your tour group ventures, Junior takes them on the educational adventure of a lifetime.  Because of longstanding relationships with select vendors, we bring your students the very best in learning excursions for an experience they’ll never forget.

Junior Tours opens the door to educational travel for teachers from all 50 states.  We’ve been doing it since 1967, so you’re assured of an adventure to remember.  Junior creates student educational adventures that make learning fun.

About Junior.

Junior Tours is the acknowledged leader in planning and executing student educational tours, all over the USA.  We offer logistical and programming excellence that answers educator goals.  Our long tenure in student tour planning brings you unique adventures, supported by decades of experience.

How student tours work: planning and executing really is this easy.  When you tour with Junior, you tour with the professionals.

Contact us to request an itinerary for your student tour.

a field trip for students to Gettysburg

Why Customized Tours Are the Best Option for Students

By Travel

Teachers create learning experiences for their students every day.  But getting out of the classroom and into the thick of America’s living history and vibrant culture is the catalyst for making those experiences more profound. Students love to travel, being naturally curious.  As students, though, they’re looking for a deeper connection with what they’re learning and that can only be achieved in the field. That’s why customized tours are the best option for students.  Combined with the thrill of walking onto the vast stage of American history and culture, a customized tour delivers maximum benefit by ensuring that all the right boxes are checked.

Reading about Gettysburg, the battles waged there and the famed words of Abraham Lincoln are one thing.  It’s quite another to place your students on the hallowed ground on which these events transpired.

Customized tours create an environment for learning uniquely engineered to educator goals.  They work from the interests of your students, bringing classroom learning to life as a compelling experiential adventure.

From Williamsburg to New Orleans.

A customized tour to historic sites brings animates and enriches learning.  History teachers may want their students to have the experience of historical re-enactments, or to attend cultural events which contemporize history in real time. Ideally, both!

From walking in the footsteps of early American settlers at Jamestown, to discovering the long and fascinating past of the Crescent City, a customized tour with a tailored theme is a unique learning experience.  What student could forget a stroll through Colonial Williamsburg, or a visit to Preservation Hall?

New York City’s teeming streets are the bearers of stories from around the world, where our ancestors first unpacked their hopes and dreams on these shores, all in the shadow of the torch-bearing Lady Liberty.  Atlanta, birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr., is home to the center named for him and in honor of non-violent change. Budding broadcasters can increase their understanding at CNN headquarters, here.

A customized tour offers your students an educational adventure tailored to teacher vision and conformed to their special interests.  Planning and execution that creates a rich experience, realized seamlessly and professionally, is why customized tours are the best option for students.

A customized experience with Junior Tours.

Junior Tours is a leader in creating student tours which animate what your students are learning about.  With access to premier vendors all over the USA, Junior brings you 50 years’ experience, working with teachers from all 50 states.

We’ve created tangible learning adventures for 500,000 K12 students who come to us for a customized experience that’s one-of-a-kind.

With detailed planning and a half century planning student tours, we’re professionals who know why customized tours are the best option for students.  Junior Tours was founded by a teacher to create exceptional learning experiences, with personalized service and the fine attention to detail that makes for superior learning enhancement which is both fun and engaging.

Visit us for an itinerary and quote and experience the very best in customized tours for students, with Junior Tours.

smiling teacher with a group of happy students

What Makes Teachers the Best Travelers?

By Uncategorized

Teachers are one of the most crucial pillars in our society.  They identify the vocations of young people by getting to know them and sharing knowledge with them.  They work overtime to make sure their students are getting what they need to succeed in life. That’s quite a commission to fulfill.

But we’re going to share a secret with you:  teachers are the best travelers!  We’ve seen this truth borne out repeatedly, in our 5 decades of taking student groups on educational tours.

So, what makes teachers the best travelers?  Let’s find out.

Planning.

A skilled teacher knows that well-structured education lies in the planning.  While most of us have our feet up, teachers are planning lessons within an overarching framework of educational goals realized over time.

Teachers have a limited amount of classroom time to get to their educational goals and know how to use that time economically.  Planning is key to reaching their goals for students.

Education is a journey.  So, when teachers travel, they apply the same principles to their excursion that they do in the classroom.  They plan to get the most from every day.  They pack for contingencies and do so sparingly.

Curiosity.

Teachers across the K12 spectrum share a key quality – curiosity.  They’re not only curious about the world around them.  They’re curious about how their students will respond to what they’re teaching.  There’s a give and take in teaching in which the instructor is often instructed.  This is one of the most exciting aspects of teaching.

That same curiosity is part of what makes teachers the best travelers.  They’re as wide-eyed with fascination as their students are.  With the pool of knowledge they command, they have the ability to see beneath the surface of things and glean from travel experiences something richer and more valuable.

People skills.

Every successful traveler can interact effortlessly with the people they meet along the way.  Teachers are uniquely suited to this key aspect of travel because they’re working with hundreds of students, every year.

Those students turn over, from grade to grade and so, the teacher acclimatizes to new faces and personalities as a way of life.

Travel demands openness.  At the same time, savvy travelers assess people and situations honestly and quickly.  Teachers do that every day with their students.

They finesse conflicts, settle restlessness and interact with students where they stand.   People skills are at the heart of good teaching and they serve teachers when they venture out into the world to travel.

What makes teachers the best travelers?  A combination of qualities that creates success in the classroom.  Planning, curiosity, and people skills are three of the most uniformly desirable traits in educators.

They’re also three of the most desirable traits in travelers, when you think about it.

Junior Tours – the teacher’s educational tour provider.

At Junior, we work with teachers from all 50 States.  Founded by a teacher, we create unique educational tours that work from educator goals.  Contact us for an itinerary and quote.

students on a field trip in a museum listening

For Teachers – Pre and Post Field Trip Planning Tips

By Travel

When you take your students on a field trip, it’s much more than a day at the park.  While you’re anxious to provide them with a fun experience, you’re also intent on cementing what they’re learning with a value-added experience. For teachers, pre and post field trip planning can make all the difference to the quality of the excursion.  Knowing what you want them to retain while they’re out there and having a plan for mobilizing that learning afterwards, are key aspects of successful field trips.

So, this post is for teachers – pre and post field trip planning tips.  How you frame your field trip before and after you go can add educational value and galvanize your students’ retention of the subject matter.

Seeding the experience.

Today’s classroom is supported by technology.  Wherever you’re taking your class, you know there’s going to be a detailed website to explore.  Assigning each of your students to a subject page on that website and making them “field trip authorities” is a fun way to offer them a chance to both learn and lead.

Talk to your kids about the place they’re visiting and how important it is for them to represent their school with dignity and decorum.  Instilling in them the reality that they’ll be ambassadors for their school and town is a great way to dispense with regulatory guidelines that may seem oppressive.  Casting them in the role of emissaries is another way to help them learn about leadership.

Introduce your class to terms they may hear during their field trip.  This boosts their vocabulary and trains them to see opportunity in personal development; opportunity that opens doors to even more knowledge.

Cementing the experience.

After you’ve returned from your field trip and you’re back in the classroom, it’s important to cement what’s been learned in the minds of your students.  Holding an intentional “open forum” on the day’s events about what was seen and learned creates a sharing environment in which your students gain value from hearing other perspectives.

Extend the experience of having represented their school by asking your students to write letters to leadership at the museum, event or attraction you attended.  Letters should thank these people by sharing thoughts on the unique value of the field trip’s subject.

Create a media release to local news outlets, describing your class’s experience and sharing with the media the value of the trip and its subject.  Everyone can get involved in this.  If the group has photographs, the best of these can be selected by the class and included with the media release.

Field trips that matter, with Junior Tours.

At Junior Tours, we create memorable educational opportunities for students.  Field trips that matter stick with students, enhancing education by bringing it to life.

Since 1967, Junior Tours has been working with teachers across the USA to help students reach higher with outstanding field trips and tours that support education with the thrill of discovery.  To find out more, request an itinerary and quote.

London

Top 7 High School Senior Trip Destinations In 2017

By Travel

These top 7 high school senior trip destinations in 2017 offer seniors experiences they’ll remember their whole lives.  Let’s go!

1. London, England.

London offers visitors big city bustle, coupled with the echoes of a long and noble history.  It’s the home of the Queen of England and the seat of English government.

From the regal splendour of Buckingham Palace to the sober gravitas of 10 Downing Street, London offers high school seniors an adventure through time in a great European city.

2. Quebec City, Canada.

Founded in 1608, Quebec City is the oldest French-speaking city in the Americas.  Its past is one which tells the story of Canada and the destiny of our continent.

From a battle between empires on the Plains of Abraham to the majestic Chateau Frontenac and its commanding vista of the St. Lawrence River, Quebec City is a feast for adventurous seniors.

3. New York City, NY.

One of the world’s most kinetic cities, the Big Apple is a delight for high school seniors.  Offering the full sweep of our nation’s story as the world’s melting pot, the neighbourhoods established by those arriving at Ellis Island were built on diversity.

From the “Crossroads of the World” at Times Square to the towering art deco grandeur of the Empire State Building, New York beckons seniors with its wealth of lore, history, and adventure.

4. Niagara Falls, Canada.

If you’ve ever wondered what 4 million cubic feet of water tumbling through space looked, sounded and felt like, this famous destination is where you can find out.  Nearby Toronto is Canada’s largest English-speaking city and a cultural and financial powerhouse.

Combining these two destinations brings high school seniors the Canadian urban experience and an up-close and personal encounter with a natural wonder they’ll never forget.

5. Boston, MA.

Rich in historical significance, Boston is the site of the Freedom Trail and it all begins at the famed Boston Common.  The notorious tax revolt known as the Boston Tea Party is one of the city’s most acclaimed moments in the American story.

It’s here that Henry David Thoreau penned the reflective masterpiece, Walden and where the Battle of Lexington and Concord raged – the first of the Civil War.

6. Chicago, IL.

American poet, Carl Sandburg, described Chicago as the “city of the big shoulders”.  As the second largest city in the USA, Chicago’s shoulders are broad, indeed.

With its outstanding architecture and thriving cultural scene, Chicago is a singular experience of the urban face of our nation.

7. New Orleans, LA.

The Crescent City’s beating heart is the legendary French Quarter, with its lacy wrought iron balconies.  Here, seniors will sense that they’re enveloped in a past, yet present.

The nearby wetlands offer an excursion among graceful Spanish moss and a unique eco-system, where seniors can experience the life of the Cajun people who live there.

These top 7 high school senior trip destinations are what we specialize in at Junior Tours. Contact us for a free sample itinerary and share the adventure.