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20 Restaurant Field Trips for Kids

20 Restaurant Field Trips for Kids including such places as Red Lobster, Outback, Papa John's Pizza and Jamba Juice.

Field trips give students educational experiences away from their regular school environment.  Popular field trip sites include zoos, nature centers, community agencies such as fire stations and hospitals, government agencies, local businesses and science museums.

But what about a field trip to your local restaurant?  A restaurant field trip can awaken the desire in a child to try new foods, pursue a previously unconsidered career or spark a new interest or passion in cooking.  Restaurant field trips not only provide alternative educational opportunities for children, but also benefit the local businesses that they visit.

Here is a list of 20 Restaurants in Southern California and nationwide that offer field trips for students including homeschoolers, school groups and scout troops.

If you want to set up a tour, you need to contact the individual restaurant location in your area and ask to speak with the general manager directly.  Since most of the restaurants on this list are franchised own, some owners may offer a tour, some may not.  It is completely up to the individual owner if they want to offer group tours.  So all you can do is call and ask!

Cost also varies.  Some restaurants offer a behind-the-scenes tour along with a child-size meal for a flat fee, while others offer a completely FREE experience.  Just be sure to ask about the cost when you call.

Most of all have fun and enjoy the educational experience with your students!

20 Restaurant Field Trips for Kids

Auntie Anne’s (Nationwide)

Want to roll and twist your very own pretzel?  Auntie Anne’s offers Pretzel Field Trips at select locations.  They make sure the content of the program matches the age and interest level of your group.  During a tour, learn the history of pretzels and how Auntie Anne’s came to be, roll your own pretzel with real dough and enjoy a delicious, hot, golden brown Original Pretzel & Lemonade.

Applebee’s (Nationwide)

Bring your group to take a “behind the scenes” tour of your local Applebee’s restaurant, learning about different staff positions and duties, food safety, following a recipe and more!  Students, teachers and chaperones alike will then enjoy a delicious lunch in the dining room.

Designed for Grades K-5, students pay just $5 each (incl. a Grilled Cheese or Chicken Finger Kid’s Meal & Kid’s Ice Cream Sundae) and chaperones pay $8 each (incl. a choice of any Pick ‘N Pair lunch combo and a fountain beverage) and the teacher receives the same adult lunch on us!

To commemorate their experience, each student will receive a certificate naming them a “Junior Applebuddy” with an attached coupon to return for a FREE Kid’s Meal on their next visit!  Restaurant tours are generally available Tuesday – Thursday mornings.  To determine a location’s availability or schedule a tour, please contact the General Manager at your local Applebee’s restaurant.

Benihana  (Nationwide)

Benihana offers a fun cultural experience for children!  Groups sit together at a special table with a grill in the middle and are given a few different meal options.  The manager then shares a little bit of history about the restaurant and then lets the chefs run the show!  The chefs are very entertaining and funny.  At the end, children receive a free meal certificate to come back again.

California Pizza Kitchen – Behind-the-Counter CPKids Restaurant Tour (Nationwide)

Every kid gets a thrill discovering how things work.  A VIP-style restaurant tour at CPK is a unique opportunity to step behind the counter and see what happens in their kitchens.  Kids will love learning the secrets about pizza making from the experts in their hands-on pizza demo.  Each kid also receives an activity book, CPKids pencil, and a certificate for a free CPK Meal on their next visit.  Behind-the-scenes tours are for schools and non-profit organizations and recommended for kids ages 10 and younger.

We have done this tour twice now.  Once when my son was in preschool and again when he was in kindergarten.  It is very fun and lasts approximately an hour.

Cold Stone Creamery (Nationwide)

Cold Stone offers a mini-behind the scenes tour of their ice cream store and then gives each child a scoop of ice cream for a set price.

Dairy Queen (Nationwide)

Many DQ® operators offer tours of their restaurant to kids in grades 1-4.  Students who visit learn how the facility operates and the importance of cleanliness and hard work.  They receive a guided tour through each area of the restaurant and the machinery is usually explained in language they can easily understand.  At the end of the tour, each student learns how to make their own DQ® cone, and then enjoy eating it.

In-N-Out Burger (Nationwide)

In-N-Out offers a FREE field trip first thing in the morning before they open to the general public.  Each student is given a hat, a goodie bag and a free lunch.  The store manager shares a little history about In-N-Out and then provides a tour of the restaurant.  It is super fun for little ones!

Jamba Juice (Nationwide)

Take a behind the scenes tour to see how this juicy company make their own smoothies.  You even get walk into a life-size freezer!

John’s Incredible Pizza – Learn/Eat/Play Tour (Riverside, Montclair, Buena Park, Westminster, Victorville and San Diego)

Each child will get a tour of the restaurant (including the kitchen), make their own pizza and receive a fun card that includes 1 ride.  You need a minimum of 12 kids to book a tour.   Please call your local restaurant to schedule a tour directly.

Krispy Kreme Donuts (Nationwide)

During a field trip to Krispy Kreme students learn about the doughnut making process, the steps to running a successful business and receive a FREE donut.

Olivewood Gardens and Learning Center (National City, CA)

Receive firsthand experience in our garden and/or kitchen.  Learn to cook with locally grown, organic produce.  Learn to plant, care for gardens, harvest, and compost all in a beautiful setting.  These trips are intended for school groups, Scout Groups, Rotary/Kiwanis Clubs, nonprofits, executive retreats, and large family groups.  Field trips can be conducted in Spanish.

Activities:
1. Nutritious cooking lesson
2. Environmental education activity
3. Active gardening/garden exploration activity

Available Times:
– Monday-Friday — 9:15-11:30 OR 11:30-1:30
– Saturdays — start times flexible

Outback Steakhouse (Nationwide)

During a tour of Outback, you will learn how the restaurant chain first got its start in Tampa, Florida in 1988 and spread internationally to more than 600 stores.  You will go into the kitchen where they saw their steaks and watch salads being prepared, see piles of cut potatoes ready for the deep fryer and experience a huge walk-in refrigerator.

Panera Bread (Nationwide)

Panera Bread® Bakers in Training program takes groups of 10–15 kids, ages 5–12, behind the scenes in a bakery-cafe* while teaching them kitchen essentials and the fundamentals of baking.  $20 per child, they’ll get their own hat and apron, stretch and score their own French Baguette, decorate a cookie and more.  It’s the perfect activity for your class, scout group, kids club or child’s birthday party.

Papa John’s Pizza (Costa Mesa, CA location only)

We have done this tour twice now!  This specific Papa John’s Pizza in Costa Mesa offers tours of their individual store.  During the tour, children get to go behind the counter and see how pizza is made.  They get to roll the dough, put sauce on the pizza and pick which toppings they want to put on top.  The store manager also gives the kids a tour of the freezer.  Brr!  At the end kids get to take home their own personal pizzas.  The cost varies per person.

Peter Piper Pizza (Nationwide)

Take a behind the scenes tour of the pizza parlor and make your own pizza to eat!

Red Lobster (Nationwide)

Red Lobster offers a tour of their restaurants in the morning.  Children get to take a tour of the entire restaurant –kitchen, freezer, and all.  Then they learn some interesting facts about Red Lobster and the fish that they serve.  Finally, the kids get to make, bake and eat their own biscuits!

The San Diego Pretzel Company (National City, CA)

They do a public group tour once a month and usually booked a year in advance.

Happy Field Tripping!

Jilleen

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Thursday 16th of January 2020

[…] 20 Restaurant Field Trips For Kids […]

Free Field Trip Ideas - The Simple Homeschooler

Friday 15th of November 2019

[…] can find out more about each program at this post from SoCal Field […]

Espy

Monday 4th of February 2019

Are any of these field trips available on weekends?

Jilleen

Thursday 7th of February 2019

You would need to call each local restaurant to ask. Most of them take place earlier in the morning from my past experience.

Why Teachers Are a Gold Mine for Your Restaurant – BestOfLosAngeles-Directory

Wednesday 24th of October 2018

[…] Applebee’s, for example, offers students and teachers a tour of its restaurants and a brief introduction to its various staff positions before providing everyone on the trip with lunch. As a result of the trip, students might take an interest in the food service industry, and educators will be appreciative of the real-world experience it provides for their class. When done correctly, something as simple as a field trip to a restaurant can teach students just as much about potential career options as a career day or science fair. […]

Why Teachers Are a Gold Mine for Your Restaurant | Modern Restaurant Management | The Business of Eating & Restaurant Management News

Wednesday 24th of October 2018

[…] Applebee’s, for example, offers students and teachers a tour of its restaurants and a brief introduction to its various staff positions before providing everyone on the trip with lunch. As a result of the trip, students might take an interest in the food service industry, and educators will be appreciative of the real-world experience it provides for their class. When done correctly, something as simple as a field trip to a restaurant can teach students just as much about potential career options as a career day or science fair. […]