The USS Lexington Museum is one of the most enriching and memorable destinations for student groups visiting Corpus Christi. With a storied legacy shaped by its service during and after World War II, the historic USS Lexington (CV-16) offers students a powerful, firsthand look into a pivotal time in history and how aircraft carriers transformed naval warfare and reshaped the balance of power among nations.

What makes USS Lexington a great pick for student groups? 

Rather than simply reading about history, students get to walk through it—climbing ladders, stepping through hatch doors, and exploring the real spaces where sailors once lived and worked. On the flight deck, they experience one of the best views of the Corpus Christi skyline while seeing historic aircraft up close, and inside the ship, immersive exhibits and the 3D MEGA Theater make them feel like part of the crew. It’s educational, interactive, and fun — a hands-on experience that truly brings history to life and stays with students long after their visit.

Can you talk a bit about specific programs/tours you have around education?

Education aboard the USS Lexington goes far beyond a traditional field trip — it’s an interactive experience designed to meet students at every grade level while keeping learning engaging and memorable. Exploring a 33,000-ton historic aircraft carrier is an adventure like no other. As students step aboard, they walk through real historic spaces such as the Ready Room, Admiral’s Quarters, engine room, and the flight and hangar decks, where they come face-to-face with historic aircraft and learn about the sailors who served and the pivotal moments of World War II, including the dramatic final days of the war in the Pacific. 

The experience is enhanced by our three-story-tall 3D MEGA Theater, where Aircraft Carrier: Guardian of the Seas makes students feel like part of an active carrier crew, adding an exciting cinematic element to their visit. 

For groups seeking deeper hands-on learning, our Guardians of the Seas program allows students to rotate through interactive STEM stations focused on flight, buoyancy, and WWII-era communications. Students explore the laws of motion and principles of flight, discover how a massive steel carrier stays afloat, and even practice Morse code using authentic-style equipment. 

Another favorite addition is the Hunt for History scavenger hunt, which encourages students to explore the ship while uncovering key historical figures and events along the way. 

Each program is designed to connect students to history through exploration, storytelling, and hands-on discovery—creating an educational experience that goes far beyond a traditional field trip and brings the legacy of USS Lexington (CV-16) to life.

Can you tell us about the overnight adventure and its highlights?

The Camp LEX Overnight Adventure program gives youth groups the rare opportunity to experience life aboard a historic aircraft carrier after hours. Designed for organized nonprofit youth organizations, the program lets participants step into the role of young shipmates—eating in chow lines, sleeping in authentic Navy racks, and learning the basics of shipboard life while exploring the legendary “Blue Ghost.”

The stay includes a showing of Aircraft Carrier: Guardian of the Seas in the 3D MEGA Theater, a patriotic flag ceremony, an evening self-guided tour of the aircraft carrier, and engaging stories that connect participants to the ship’s rich history and mystery. Dinner on arrival day and breakfast the next morning are included.

Reveille the next morning signals the start of a new day as participants pack up their gear, help return the berthing compartments to “ship shape,” and are officially mustered out with stories to share from their time aboard. Each participant also receives a special Camp LEX patch—available only to those who complete the program.

Camp LEX is open to organized nonprofit youth groups such as schools, churches, YMCA/YWCA, BSA, GSA, and similar organizations. The program is $85 per person, per night, and overnight guests also receive a $10 per person discount on the Lockdown on the LEX Escape Rooms during their stay.

What are some unique experiences at the Lexington?

One of the newest highlights aboard the USS Lexington Museum  for student groups is the Women of the Navy exhibit—an immersive space that brings history to life through interactive storytelling. Students move through hands-on displays featuring holographic scenes, talking picture frames, and motion-activated experiences that share real stories of women who served. Touch-screen timelines, digital learning stations, and a virtual changing room invite students to explore Navy history in an engaging way while helping them see themselves reflected in the legacy of service. Designed to spark curiosity and confidence, the exhibit encourages students to connect with history while inspiring the next generation of leaders.

Another unique experience that sets the USS Lexington Museum apart is the Lockdown on the LEX Escape Rooms, where students can work together to solve puzzles and complete mission-style challenges inspired by real naval themes. These interactive adventures promote teamwork, problem-solving, and critical thinking in a fun, high-energy environment, making them a popular add-on for groups looking to blend history with hands-on engagement during their visit.

How do you work with Director’s Choice/student groups to make the planning process smooth and manageable?

Clear communication is at the heart of every successful visit to the USS Lexington Museum. From the early planning stages through the day of arrival, our team works closely with each group to keep the process organized, flexible, and stress-free. Prior to their visit, group leaders receive behavioral guidelines to review with students, helping set clear expectations for conduct while exploring the ship. To support supervision and safety, we recommend a 1:10 chaperone-to-student ratio, and admission is provided at no cost to help groups meet the required minimum number of chaperones.

Groups also benefit from easy bus drop-off access and convenient parking, making arrival and departure simple for both drivers and group leaders. When groups arrive, a USS Lexington Museum representative welcomes them aboard, reviews safety procedures, and helps prepare everyone for a successful visit. Theater seating is reserved in advance based on each group’s schedule to keep visits running smoothly, and if lunch arrangements are needed, our onboard caterer works directly with groups to coordinate meal options. Through open communication and strong planning, we work to make each visit easy to manage so groups can focus on enjoying their time aboard.

Anything else you’d like to let student groups know?

We invite students of all ages to step aboard the USS Lexington Museum and experience history in a way that goes far beyond the classroom. Here, learning comes to life as visitors walk the same passageways once traveled by young sailors and stand on the flight deck where teamwork, courage, and innovation shaped history. These moments remind us that history isn’t just something we read about — it’s something we can see, feel, and experience together.

With opportunities to explore history, science, geography, and real-world problem solving, the USS Lexington Museum offers something for every student. Our goal is to spark curiosity, encourage discovery, and create an environment where young people can imagine new possibilities for themselves. As a community, we are proud to provide a place where students can explore, learn, and begin to see their own potential as the leaders of tomorrow.

Photos courtesy of USS Lexington Museum.

by Chase Giddings, Director of Bands at Conroe High School

For nearly 15 years, Spring ISD in Houston, Texas was more than a place of employment—it was home. I arrived as a student teacher, wide-eyed and eager, and grew through the ranks as an assistant band director, associate band director, and eventually head band director. Those years shaped not only my professional identity, but my sense of purpose. So when the time came to say goodbye, it was anything but easy.

Leaving my position there at Dekaney High School was painful precisely because of what had been built. Relationships with parents, community stakeholders, and—most importantly—students had been forged through countless rehearsals, performances, victories, and disappointments. These weren’t surface-level connections; they were bonds created through shared struggle and shared success. Walking away from that felt like walking away from a piece of myself.

Yet, the reality of public education in today’s political climate began to take its toll. The challenges were relentless. Policies shifted, resources tightened, and morale was constantly tested. Despite a staff that poured everything they had into overcoming uphill battles, each small step forward seemed to be met with another obstacle. The passion was there. The effort was undeniable. But the weight of systemic difficulties became heavier with each passing year.

The moment of clarity didn’t arrive suddenly or dramatically—it came quietly, during a serious heart-to-heart conversation with a colleague and friend. In that moment, I realized something profound: I needed to give myself permission to let go. Permission to acknowledge that staying, simply because I had invested so much, was no longer serving the students—or myself—in the way I hoped it would.

No, I hadn’t accomplished everything I set out to do four years earlier when I became head band director. The program had been deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted momentum and fractured participation across the district.

Compounding that challenge were School of Choice programs that locked students into schedules that left little room for band, further shrinking an already small 6A program. Numbers dropped. Opportunities narrowed. And despite tireless effort, rebuilding felt like swimming against a powerful current.

Accepting that reality required humility and grace. I had to be okay with releasing something that had been such a central part of my life. That was not failure—it was acceptance.

What drew me initially to the Dekaney program was its ability to defy the odds. It was a place that produced high-level musicians and strong academic students despite operating in challenging environments. That resilience inspired me. It reminded me why I entered this profession in the first place: to serve students, especially when the path forward isn’t easy.

That same sense of possibility led me to my current role at Conroe High School. Taking over the Conroe band program has been a refreshing and affirming transition. The community has been welcoming, the shift relatively seamless. What I immediately recognized was a program filled with enormous potential—strong numbers, eager students, and a clear need for nurturing, care, and intentional leadership.

At its core, band is about more than notes, drills, or trophies. It’s about people. It’s about relationships. The old adage remains as true as ever: students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. That belief guides my work every day. Knowledge and expertise matter, but they mean little without trust, empathy, and genuine investment in students’ lives.

Leaving Spring ISD will always carry a sense of loss. But stepping into Conroe has reaffirmed that growth sometimes requires letting go. By giving myself permission to close one meaningful chapter, I opened the door to another—one filled with opportunity, hope, and the chance to love and nurture a new generation of students through music.

And that, ultimately, is why we do this work.

Written by Jason Hooper, Orchestra Teacher at College Station High School.

Over the last decade, travel has moved from an occasional enrichment activity to a strategic pillar of the College Station High School Orchestra program. Among our tours, one experience consistently rises above the rest for students and parents: Performing at Carnegie Hall in New York City. I have taken this trip with the CSHS Orchestra three times, once at a previous school, and it has become inseparable from our ensemble’s identity. Alumni routinely tell me that the New York tour, culminating on the most famous stage in the world, stands as a watershed moment in their musical and personal development. The memory endures, but more importantly, so do the habits it cultivates.

From an instructional standpoint, a prestigious, high-stakes performance exerts a clarifying pressure on ensemble culture. Rehearsal focus sharpens, sectional accountability tightens, and interpretive decisions become both musically compelling and teachable. The prospect of a Carnegie appearance effectively resets baselines for tone, intonation, and ensemble precision; students hear themselves differently in that acoustic and work backward to build those qualities at home. The shared preparation and travel consolidate social bonds and elevate norms, producing cohesion that persists long after the final bow.

Just as crucial, the tour motivates students to generalize professional behaviors—punctuality, self-monitoring, and resilient practice into daily rehearsals and non-musical domains. These observations align with well-established findings in education: authentic performance tasks, deliberate practice under meaningful constraints, and immersive learning environments enhance motivation, self-efficacy, and group cohesion—outcomes correlated with improved performance and retention over time. In short, the trip is not merely memorable; it is pedagogically productive.

Our Carnegie Hall tours have been the single most effective engine for expanding parent engagement and strengthening our booster organization because they create a clear, meaningful objective that mobilizes families around concrete roles and timelines. In practice, parents move from sporadic volunteering to durable commitments as chaperones, logistics leads, fundraising captains, hospitality coordinators, and communications liaisons; these role definitions increase perceived efficacy and belonging, two factors consistently associated in the education literature with sustained volunteerism and donor retention.

The reliability of the tour’s execution (budget transparency, safety planning, predictable itineraries) compounds trust, which accelerates word-of-mouth recruitment and brings new families into the booster pipeline each year. Post-tour, the shared “peak experience” functions as social proof: concert attendance rises, fundraising targets are easier to meet, and alumni parents often remain involved as mentors and donors, giving the organization continuity that outlives any single cohort. In short, the Carnegie Hall cycle converts enthusiasm into structure, structure into capacity, and capacity into a self-reinforcing booster culture that measurably increases participation, fundraising yield, and institutional loyalty.

Another important component of these trips are is that our itineraries are built around learning, not just sightseeing. Director’s Choice has supported musically coherent programming, protecting rehearsal schedules so that artistic integrity is never an afterthought. Cultural visits are selected for relevance to young musicians and paced to preserve rest and readiness before the performance. Families benefit from clear pre-trip information, predictable payment structures, and responsive on-tour support, which reduces anxiety and builds trust with parents and administrators. I’ve had fabulous travel guides on all of my trips that take care of everything for me from tickets, to logistics, to on-the-fly adjustments. As a director, this allows me to focus on my students while knowing everything else is taken care of.

The Carnegie Hall tour advances three long-term aims of our program. First, it strengthens recruitment and retention by giving students a clear, aspirational target that rewards sustained commitment. When younger players watch veterans return from New York with new confidence and maturity, they choose to stay, and they choose to lead. Second, it elevates the program’s public value. A performance at a landmark venue draws attention to the discipline, artistry, and educational merit of school music, reinforcing community support for the arts. Third, it creates alumni continuity. Graduates describe the tour as formative, which is a keystone experience that anchors their identity as musicians and as members of a disciplined, high-trust team. That narrative extends the program’s influence well beyond high school.

Great trips do not replace great teaching; they amplify it. When travel is purpose-built around musical outcomes and executed with precision, the return on instructional time is unmistakable. Our Carnegie Hall experiences—three with College Station High School and one at a prior campus—have delivered that return consistently. Director’s Choice has been the right partner throughout: professional, student-focused, and steady in the details that matter. For programs considering a capstone performance experience I would recommend that they define the learning goals first, then select a partner capable of building an itinerary that serves those goals without compromising the artistry of your group. That has been our experience with Director’s Choice, and it is why the Carnegie Hall experience remains central to who we are and what we pursue together as an orchestra.

Photo courtesy of Jason Hooper.