A phenomenological approach was used to investigate the longitudinal recollections of participants of an out-of-school science program. The experience was a field trip to the Shenandoah National Park (USA) conducted in the fall of 2004. The science topic was geologic history and features related to the Shenandoah Valley. Two major themes relating to the participants' long term recollection of the out-of-school science field trip were identified after the interview data was analyzed. First, recollections were highly influenced by actions taken by the students, and, second, program content/subject matter were retained by all of the students to varying degrees. The interactive experiences that aided in memory retrieval from this study closely relates to the interactive experiences associated with memory and learning theory associated with the psychological domain. This linkage and its impact on how students learn in out-of-school science experiences are discussed. (Contains 2 figures.)