A bus ride to the San Diego Museum of Art changed my life!

By Patricia F. Smith, Co-Founder, ArtsBusXpress

Looking back, my first field trip was a life-changer! Riverside City Schools gave me a ride on a school bus all the way from Riverside to the San Diego Museum of Art! What a ride that turned out to be! I'd never been on a school bus before so that in itself was an experience. Plus, I'd never been to a museum. The field trip opened up a whole new world that I had never been exposed to! The following years I went on two other field trips (thanks to Riverside City Schools) that included a visit to the Los Angeles Natural History Museum and the Southwest Museum in Pasadena.

These field trips were the pathway to a life-long interest and love of the Arts! Having grown up as the daughter of a first-generation American, his plan for me was to take over the family business, which was a home improvement retail center. That was not my dream! Instead, I began my own business as an Art Consultant and gallery owner! Art Expressions Gallery continued for 30 years until I retired in 2011. It was the catalyst for my interest in giving San Diego's students a "Ride to the Arts and Sciences" by co-founding ArtsBusXpress in 2002!

Field Trips Do Matter! Help us continue this much-needed funding. School budgets no longer include funding for out-of-classroom field trips or in-classroom virtual experiences. ArtsBusXpress fills that gap enabling teachers to enrich their students’ learning through these in-person and virtual Field Trip Xperiences. #SanDiegoMuseumofArt