Field Trip – Adobe Style

When my son was in elementary school, the class typically adventured on one or two field trips each year – to a museum, a historical building or the local capital building. My schedule was such that attending often proved a challenge; and even when able there were so many parent volunteers, to be selected was like winning the lottery. While educational, most of the field trips did not leave Kyle with a level of excitement where he shared stories about the trip – except the week excursion he took in 8th grade to Washington DC and NYC (lucky guy)!

Then came summer which always presented the working parent’s challenge of juggling camps or family visitors that could provide some extra fun for the day. On those rare occasions when I lacked coverage, I would bring him to the Adobe office for my own version of a field trip. Those days at Adobe became a favorite of his with stories shared about the ample chocolate milk, bringing along his PSP or Gameboy (no iPads in those day) and, of course a favorite – the trip to the cafeteria for lunch. I cherished having the chance to show Kyle where I went to work every day, and the commute home was a special time filled with him excitedly sharing all he had experienced throughout the day. The memories created during those visits to the office are still talked about all these years later.

Fast forward to 2013, we decided to create an opportunity for employees to show off their workplace to their children/families, giving them a view into how they spend their days at work while allowing employees a glimpse into each other’s lives beyond work. It started as a small gathering called Kids’ Day at our San Jose and San Francisco campuses and; as we grew, it became an annual global event – The Adobe Field Trip. To date, across seven of our largest locations – Bay Area, Bangalore, Lehi, McLean, New York, Newton, and Noida – we have hosted approximately 12,000 employee families with an average of 13% of our global workplace each year.

Last Friday, we held the Bay Area Field Trip and from the moment I arrived, I found delight in seeing children of all ages wearing their personalized Adobe badges and their field trip tee shirts, all eagerly ready for the activities that would fill their day. Equally, the adults accompanying the children were beaming with pride, treasuring the chance to share this experience with their families.

Some of the activities included guided tours of the San Jose campus, an art scavenger hunt that took them on a journey through our most recently remodeled West Tower, a science hub where families could engage and discover things about the earth and cooking, a builders hub where I saw skyscrapers made of Legos, a creative zone where they made lanterns, bead lacing and more; and my personal favorite, a gathering in the park for a big summer BBQ picnic filled with music and table activities and sharing.

As the festivities ended, I was reminded of just how impactful and memorable these moments are – Adobe Field Trip reinforces that creating experiences beyond our employees is an important part of who we are at Adobe and the values we cherish.

I am super proud of the team that orchestrates these amazing events for our Adobe families and friends around the globe. My hope is that those who visited had an incredible experience and left with fond memories of their day; and maybe, just maybe, we planted the seed that one day they would join their family member as an Adobe employees themselves.