2026 7th Grade EIS STEAM Trip

Welcome to the official website for the Westfield 7th Grade STEAM Trip! This educational field trip, approved by the Westfield Board of Education, is organized by Kaleidoscope Adventures—a trusted tour company with over 30 years of experience in student group travel. Each trip emphasizes the core educational pillars of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM). Additionally, it provides an excellent opportunity for students to build independence in a well-structured group travel setting.

2026-2027 Edison Intermediate School 7th Grade School Year STEAM Trip Information:

Westfield Public Schools will host STEAM Trip for Edison students during the 2026-2027 school year, marking the 13th iteration of this trip! This opportunity is open to all students enrolled in 7th grade for the 2026-2027 school year.

EIS 7th Grade STEAM Trip Information:

The Roosevelt trip will take place in Florida focusing on engineering, technology and science with trips to the Florida Everglades, Universal Studios, and Kennedy Space Center.

Dates:

February 6th-9th, 2027

** Dates may shift by 1-2 days depending on flight availability. However, the trip will include weekend days and school days. School days are excused absences since it is a school trip.

There are three steps to register:

CLICK HERE to fill out the interest form which puts you on the email list.

2. Trip Application Form - Available starting at the meetings below and due May 8th, 2026. Please see Mr. Belline in EIS Room 205 or Mrs. Friedman in Room 224. This is a paper only form with a parent and student section to be completed in full sentences.

3. Non Refundable Deposit - $100 Cash or Check made out to "Edison School Fund" - submitted at same time as Trip Application. This $100 goes toward your final cost.

For more information, consider attending any of the following meetings...

EIS Student Meeting - Students Only -Tuesday, April 13th from 3:00 to 3:30pm in the EIS Auditorium
Virtual Meeting - For Parents and Students - Thursday, April 16th from 7:00 - 7:30pm. Link sent via email once Step #1 is complete.

** If there are more than 45 sign ups, then there will be a lottery to pick the spots. That will be completed about a week after application due date. Students selected will then confirm their spot with the first payment in the online portal. Oftentimes, people do drop and we will have a second lottery. **

Anticipated Price: Approximately $1995 per person

Trip cost is broken up into approximately 6 monthly installments. There is a way to setup online fundraiser as well to get donations from friends and extended family members.

This is an all inclusive price...flights, hotel, chaperones, MEALS, all programs, TIPS, and everything else listed. Many camps or travel programs show one price but then participants need to pay extra for meals and tips. This is all built into our price.

7th Grade STEAM Trip Potential Itinerary:

Day #1
- Flight Newark to Orlando
- Airboat Tour on the Florida Everglades at Boggy Creek
- Critter Encounter and history of wildlife in Florida with a Tour Guide at Boggy Creek
- Group Restaurant Dinner
Day #2
- Take the 3 hour Behind the Adventure Tour at Universal Islands of Adventure including a behind the scenes look at such rides as Spiderman and others.
- Lunch in the park
- Ride the rides of Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios.
- Dinner in one of the Parks.
Day #3
- Trip to Kennedy Space Center:
  - Take a bus tour of the famous launch pads
  - See a real Saturn V Rocket and artifacts from the Apollo era (1960's-1970's) in the Apollo Center.
  - See the actual space shuttle Atlantis from the Space Shuttle era (1970's - 2010's)
  - Learn about the new Artemis era to get to Mars over the next decade
  - If available, join a chat with a former astronaut!
- Dinner back at the hotel
- Fun social games time
Day #4
- Free morning in groups at Universal Epic Universe to ride the rides there.
- Lunch at Universal Park
- Return Home on Flight Orlando to Newark

Participant Eligibility:

A student must be in good academic standing in order to be considered for the trip which means:

Marking Period Grades of B (80%) or better for all classes for the first 3 marking periods of this current school year.
Student must have a high level of attendance with no more than 12 absences or 12 unexcused tardies this school year.
No significant disciplinary issues on record with the school specifically a physical or verbal threat toward a classmate or staff member especially if leading to a out of class suspension.

Failure to meet all criteria does not exclude a student from the trip. The student can fill out the Eligibility Explanation Form with teacher signature (could be guidance counselor if absenteeism) and hand in with your application form prior to the due date. The trip organizers will check with the teacher or main office to see if the student should be allowed on the trip such as determining if student scored a low grade with effort (acceptable) vs. scored a low grade with a lack of effort or HW not done (not acceptable).

Students who ignore this form and are found to have grades below cutoff, absences above cutoff, or suspensions will automatically be placed last in the potential lottery without communication.

If more than 45 students complete registration for the trip and are eligible then a lottery will result in order to fill the spots.

Other Trip Notes:

Hotel Accommodations - Students will stay in a Universal related Hotel, most likely Universal Cabana Bay Resort. Students will be in rooms of 3-4 each and will have a ranking system of who they request. As a result, students will be sharing tight spaces including possibly sharing a larger hotel bed.
Device Policy - The only devices allowed on this trip is a cell phone and/or watch and any connected device (air pods, chargers, etc). Students may not bring laptops, chromebooks, gaming systems, etc. There will be many activities and meals that are device free to focus on not only the educational learning but learning social skills and acceptance as well.
Nighttime Procedures - Students will only be in their rooms at night and are required to shower. Students may not enter other rooms and this will be strictly enforced. Internet connected devices will be collected by chaperones after the nightly group meetings. Students will be given clear directions in case of emergency overnight.

These rules reflect rules at sleep away summer camps providing students will an amazing trip combining the educational aspects of school with the social aspects of sleep away camp.

Hanging out at Velocicoaster at Universal Studios!

Meeting a snake in the Florida Everglades

Chaperones at Kennedy Space Center

Our science teacher and trip chaperone holding a tarantula on our Boggy Creek trip

Trip Chaperones and Organizer:

The trip is organized by Mr. Ryan Belline, an experienced math teacher at Edison Intermediate School having been a part of over 120 youth overnight trips. Besides being a middle school math teacher, Mr. Belline has 20 years of sleep away camp experience at Campus Kids Sleep Away Camp, including running the multi night tent camping trip option for middle school students and now runs those same trips with information here. Finally, Mr. Belline also coaches and organizes the Westfield Ultimate Frisbee program. The team takes 2-4 overnight trips each year to various places like Washington DC, Massachusetts, and more. Needless to say, Mr. Belline is very familiar with organizing middle school aged trips and is also First Aid/CPR certified.

Mrs. Allison Friedman has been teaching middle school science for 14 years and has attending multiple STEAM Trips. Mrs. Friedman also coaches with the Westfield Ultimate Frisbee program alongside Mr. Belline, where she participates in chaperoning overnight trips and daily tournaments. She is dedicated to fostering student curiosity and independence by cultivating safe and memorable learning experiences beyond the classroom walls.

Other chaperones are selected based on the number of sign ups and will be Westfield Public School teachers and staff who are experienced and eager to work with overnight travel. Also, there will be a licensed school nurse on the trip with us who assists with first aid and administers daily medication.

Space Simulation at Space Camp

Perks of Westfield STEM Trip:

Only School Sponsored Middle School Overnight Trip!
- School certified Registered Nurse attending
- District Insurance and Best Practices
- High Level of Support including guidance counselors, school nurses, and school administration to handle any issues
All Inclusive Pricing - including meals and tips
- Most camp/travel programs anticipate tips or participants to carry cash for meals
- Food vouchers included in our trip
Most experienced chaperones
- Over 20 years of middle school travel experience

Catching animals with our tour guide in the Gulf of Mexico

Previous Trips:

This will be the 13th Westfield STEAM overnight field trip. Our first trip in 2017 was to Universal Studios in Orlando. 27 students attended and were able to go behind the scenes at the parks. In 2018, we traveled with 26 students to Walt Disney World in Orlando. Both years we also explored Kennedy Space Center, Mote Marine Laboratory, and Ringling College. In 2019, the trip grew massively and we took 63 students to Space Camp and Nashville! In 2022, over 70 EIS students visited Kennedy Space Center and Universal Studios! And, then in 2024, we started running two trips every year due to massive demand with well over 90 students attending each year. In 2025, we expanded even more and developed a Roosevelt only trip as well. That year, 128 students attended the trip!

To see press releases of previous trips, please click on the links below:

2026 Trips to Kennedy Space Center and Universal Studios
2025 Trips to Universal Studios and Space Camp
2024 Trips to Space Camp and Disney
2023 Trip to Tampa Mote Marine Laboratory
2022 Trip to Universal Studios and Kennedy Space Center
2019 Trip to Space Camp and Nashville
2018 Trip to Kennedy Space Center and Disney
2017 Trip to Kennedy Space Center and Universal Studios

At the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, FL

Holding a baby alligator at Florida Everglades

Testimonials from Parents

I thought everything was so well done. My daughter enjoyed everything, and actually said, "I'd like to go to college here (Ringling)." It was her first time showing such enthusiasm for her future. The Remind pictures were so fun to see, and the amount of adventures throughout the trip was fantastic. I was jealous that I could not go! Much more exciting than my overnight trip to DC with Edison back in the late 80's!
The exposure to real-world STEAM related orgs. that are directly related to the fields of _____’s interest- (She dreams of working in design for Disney parks). She loved the design school, and the behind-the-scenes tours at the parks. The whole trip was a life changing experience for ______ - fueling her drive to pursue her dream. We loved that she was safe, with friends, and so stimulated for her first trip away from home on her own.
I'm a huge proponent of travel in general. I try to foster a sense of curiosity, wonder and respect for cultures and the planet with my kids and there is no better way to do that than to experience things first hand. This trip was no exception and did not disappoint. It lived up to every expectation that we had.
I can't say enough good things about the trip. My child had an amazing time and we feel lucky that he was able to have this opportunity and experience. We thank you very much for organizing such a wonderful trip, with lasting memories.
Having our child attend this interesting and fun experience was amazing for our child’s sense of independence. We can already see the maturity and growth since returning. It is also a fantastic way to get to meet new students and teachers and form new bonds. We cannot recommend this experience enough and hope to travel with the group again next year!
Mr. Belline and the rest of the staff run an incredible STEM trip. My both of my kids have been on the trip and loved it. As a parent I felt my kids were in great hands. Highly recommend!

Testimonials from Students

I will remember a lot from Kennedy Space Center because I thought seeing the Atlantis Space Shuttle in person was really cool.
It was such a phenomenal experience and I would recommend this trip to anyone.
I will remember our trip to the aquarium the most because I learned a lot in the aquarium itself and I had a lot of fun catching animals in the brackish water and learning about them
I think Full Sail definitely highlighted how interesting video editing and filming is with a boom, camera, and green screen was! I think I now will consider video filming for movies or TV now as a possible career instead of something fun to watch or do on the side for fun. The video editing experience was definitely one of my favorite experiences on the trip.
The trip was so fun. It was educational but in a great hands on way, this trip consists of many once in a lifetime experiences which I will never forget. Being with friends, and being more connected with teachers are so fun. A great thing about the trip was being with students from the other school so we could get to know each other before high school
I had the best time!