The centerpiece education initiative of Art Design Chicago, the Field Trip Program connects Art Design Chicago with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) classrooms, predominantly in South and West Side neighborhoods. The program supports and facilitates field trips to a range of cultural organizations presenting exhibitions throughout 2018, and includes professional development workshops for teachers, providing them with tools to incorporate explorations of artworks into their literacy, social-science, and visual-arts lesson plans. Teachers will guide students to create their own Art Design Chicago exhibits at their schools. Additionally, the program works with CPS Community Schools to organize parent and family visits to Art Design Chicago exhibitions in 2018. The initiative is expected to serve more than 4,500 students in grades 6–12 and 150 teachers across 50 schools.

The project is guided by Dr. Barbara Radner, Director of the Center for Urban Education at DePaul University, in partnership with staff from Chicago Public Schools and participating museums and art centers.