I am writing from Canada.
We are trying to prepare a case for closer relationships between schools and 
museums in our province. Here, the Department of Education has long stressed 
"time on task," which means that students are rarely outside the classroom. 
Apart from everythign else, there are budget considerations, since any sort 
of field trip requires the use of busses. As well, the school districts 
often require demonstrations of how the trip will relate to curriculum. My 
argument is that the students will make their own connections. Even if the 
connection doesn't apply directly to the current curriculum, at some point 
down the road they'll remember what they saw, heard, felt, smelled, learned 
and see how it connects with something else.
At any rate, I'm trying to find out how much time students in other places 
spend in the classroom, how often they visit facilcities like museums, how 
museums and schools. I'd like any information I can get.
Bill Clarke
Vice-President
Association Museums New Brunswick
Dalhousie, NB
Canada