For students currently in grades 9–12
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Travel programs with the Smithsonian Institution for grades 8–12

Challenge yourself academically at the world's most prestigious universities

Non-profit organization offering student travel scholarships

High school youth summit focused on public health, climate change, and equity

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Campus-based climate change program for grades 9–12

Tanzania

Service, Swahili, & Safari

June 26 — July 20
$8,490 + airfare

Tanzania

Service, Swahili, & Safari

June 26 — July 20
$8,490 + airfare

Immerse yourself in village life in Tanzania as you join community members to volunteer on several locally directed service projects. Collaborate on small-scale construction projects and teach English and math to local school children. On your final week abroad, venture out on a specially designed safari that combines a brief introduction to life at a rural Maasai boma with world-class wildlife viewing in Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park, directed by professional guides and game-finders.

• Help with community construction projects in your host village
• Teach English lessons for Tanzanian school children
• Visit a Maasai boma and walk amongst baobabs
• Explore the 10-mile-wide Ngorongoro Crater big game park
“Juliana felt that she truly connected with many of the people in the village, in addition to her fellow travelers. She went to Costa Rica last year and loved the trip, but this time her experience was richer in regards to the connections she made and the cultural understanding she gained.”
—Victoria & Tom Baluk, Brooklyn, NY

Itinerary

This itinerary represents our best projection of the group’s schedule. However, we may implement changes designed to improve the quality of the program.

Departure — Travel Day

Meet your fellow high school student travelers and one or more of your leaders in New York, and fly together to Arusha, Tanzania. To learn more about how we organize travel, click here.

Host Village — 8 days

Collaborate with local people and undertake several meaningful community service projects in our host village on the lower slope of Mt. Meru, near Tanzania’s northeastern hub of Arusha. Rise early and dive into small groups on the service project sites. You may build a classroom, school kitchen, or simple housing for teachers; teach math or English to local children; improve the village water supply system; or work on local farms planting and harvesting crops. Late afternoons are devoted to group activities with our Tanzanian friends: play soccer, go for a hike, take Swahili lessons, attend a workshop to learn batik artwork or beading, or work on your independent project.

Weekend Excursion — 3 days

Stay at a mountain lodge at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Learn about the people, cultures, and history of the Kilimanjaro region, and explore the area’s waterfalls and dramatic rain-forested landscape.

Host Village — 7 days

Return to your host village and continue work on service projects. Further explore the local area on visits to nearby markets, coffee farms, or an ecotourism project site. In your final days, join your new Tanzanian friends in a farewell celebration of stories, songs, dance, and final lasting memories.

Safari & Maasai Lands — 5 days

Head out on a safari organized by close friends of Putney, who introduce us to Tanzania’s fascinating tribal culture, wildlife, and history. Begin at Randilen, a community-owned wildlife management area on the outskirts of Tarangire National Park that is protected by the Maasai for the benefit of both people and wildlife. Camp on these traditional hunting lands as guests of the Maasai and, along with our professional safari guides, explore Randilen’s baobab woodlands on foot. In the world-renowned Tarangire National Park, view Tanzania’s iconic big game animals up close from the safety of your safari vehicle. Explore the park’s plains, acacia forests, swamps, and the Tarangire River—one of the only permanent water sources for wildlife during the dry season, which falls during our visit. Continue to Ngorongoro Crater and explore the ten-mile-wide caldera with expert guides. Drive through grasslands, swamps, and along lakes and rivers, and safely encounter lions, zebras, cheetahs, rhinos, elephants, monkeys, flamingos, wildebeest, jackals, and hyenas. Outside of Ngorongoro, visit a traditional Maasai home, or boma, in the Selela Forest and learn how livestock herding is central to this pastoralist community’s way of life.

Return — Travel Day

Fly from Arusha, Tanzania, to New York with your group and a leader, then continue on to your final destination. To learn more about how we organize travel, click here.