This article outlines the fundamental role that fieldwork plays in Earth science and the way we understand how the Earth works. It discusses the justifications for including fieldwork as a key experience in teaching and learning Earth science. It highlights the similarities and differences between fieldwork and experiments in the physical sciences, lists the pedagogic purposes and aims, describes types of field trips, and discusses the selection of fieldwork locations and the design of fieldwork. Finally, two worked examples illustrate how fieldwork can form the pedagogic focus for a thinking-skills approach to teaching Earth science.