School Year Field Trips

school year field trips

Pre-K through 5th grade students are invited to play while visiting the Museum’s 20,000 square feet of STEAM exhibits. Designed by educators and aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards, Museum experiences complement classroom learning.

Please continue reading to reserve your field trip today!

what to expect

Select your grade level for details and workshop options.

  • Field trip reservations are for 1.5 hours in the Museum.
  • 1 adult chaperone is required for every 5 students.
  • Groups of over 50 students are encouraged to play in the Museum on Mondays.
  • We recommend eating a snack prior to your visit. Learn more about the dining areas adjacent to the Museum in our FAQ section.
  • Field trips are not permitted re-entry to the Museum after leaving to eat.


At this time, we do not offer workshop add-ons for these groups

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  • Field trip reservations are for 1.5 hours in the Museum.
  • 1 adult chaperone is required for every 5 students.
  • We recommend eating a snack prior to your visit. Learn more about the dining areas adjacent to the Museum in our FAQ section.
  • Field trips are not permitted re-entry to the Museum after leaving to eat.


K-1 workshop add-ons
Add a workshop to your field trip and harness your students’ curiosity and creative power!

  1. make it fly
    • Up, up and away! Explore aerodynamics by planning and building a flying contraption to test in wind tubes. Students will engage in the engineering design cycle: designing, testing, observing, and modifying their contraptions.
    • Curriculum connections: NGSS Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, NGSS Engineering Design

  1. pattern pals
    • Build, identify, and classify patterns using familiar shapes to create something new! Students will explore the world of patterns while practicing collaboration and creative thinking.
    • Curriculum connections: Common Core Geometry, NGSS Cross Cutting Concept: Patterns

  1. cloud explorers
    • Use your body to understand cloud formation! In Cloud Explorers, students will learn about different types of clouds and their connections to weather.
    • Curriculum connections: NGSS Weather and Climate

  • Field trip reservations are for 1.5 hours in the Museum.
  • We recommend 1 adult for every 5 students. 1 adult per 5 students will receive FREE Museum admission at ALL grade levels.
  • 2nd grade: 1 adult chaperone is required for every 5 students.
  • 3rd grade: 1 adult chaperone is required for every 10 students.
  • Field trips are not permitted re-entry to the Museum after leaving to eat.


2-3 workshop add-ons
Add a workshop to your field trip and harness your students’ curiosity and creative power!

  1. adventures with wind
    • Explore forces and the engineering design cycle with wind-powered vehicles. Students will engage in multiple building and testing cycles while reflecting on how the improvements helped their vehicle traverse different terrains.
    • Curriculum connections: NGSS Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, Engineering Design

  1. forces in motion
    • Discover how friction and other forces impact each other. Students will build vehicles and test their designs on different surfaces.
    • Curriculum connections: NGSS Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, Engineering Design

  1. coding with colors (offered for 3rd grade only)
    • Explore coding completely screen-free with Ozobots! Students will learn basic coding concepts—like cause and effect, critical thinking, and debugging—while navigating their robot through different story trails.
    • Curriculum connections: Curriculum connections: NGSS Engineering Design, Planning and Carrying out Investigations

  • Field trip reservations are for 1.5 hours in the Museum.
  • We recommend 1 adult for every 5 students. 1 adult per 5 students will receive FREE Museum admission at ALL grade levels.
  • 1 adult chaperone is required for every 10 students.
  • Field trips are not permitted re-entry to the Museum after leaving to eat.


4-5 workshop add-ons
Add a workshop to your field trip and harness your students’ curiosity and creative power!

  1. circuit builders
    • Zzzap! Investigate how electricity flows using circuit blocks. Test out batteries, bulbs, and switches and discover how electricity flows. Students will be introduced to concepts like series and parallel circuits.
    • Curriculum connections: NGSS Energy, Energy Transfer

  1. color investigators
    • Step into the colorful world of…. shadows?! Students will investigate the properties of light, reflection, and color vision.
    • Curriculum connections: NGSS Waves, Electromagnetic Radiation

  1. STEM storytelling
    • Students will be introduced to automata, moving mechanical sculptures, and the engineering design process through a storytelling lens.
    • Curriculum connections: Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, Engineering Design

pricing

The rates below are available for field trips of 10 or more students. You will be invoiced based on the information you provide our team during booking. Payment will be due 30 days after your field trip is scheduled. For more information on the payment process and policies, please review our FAQs.

$15 per student

chaperones

  • free up to 1 adult per 5 students for all grade levels
  • $15 for each additional chaperone
  • We recommend 1 adult chaperone for every 5 students. Please read more about our chaperone requirements in our FAQs.

workshops are an additional flat fee of $150

  • Students will be led through a hands-on experience by a trained member of the Museum Education Team.
  • Workshops run for 30 minutes.
  • Workshops can accommodate a maximum of 25 students. If you are interested in a workshop and have more than 75 students, you will need to visit the Museum over multiple days. We are unable to provide workshops for more than 75 students per day.
Little girl sitting at the activity table.

frequently asked questions

The Museum is continuously working to secure funding to subsidize free field trips and workshop add-ons for Title 1 schools in DC, Virginia, and Maryland. If your school is eligible to receive support and funding is available at the time of your booking, our team will notify you.

At this time, we do not offer workshop add-ons for these groups.
Please review our exhibits overview, which highlights some of the standards that each of our interactive exhibits satisfies. If you have additional questions, please reach out to the Education Team at [email protected].
Yes, the Museum welcomes field trips during the summer. Please navigate to our summer field trips page to learn about our offerings for groups visiting during the summer.

The Museum does not have a field trip dining area on-site; however, nearby seating options are available, including the Woodrow Wilson Plaza, where your group can enjoy lunch outdoors (weather permitting) on benches and tables available for public use, and inside the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center’s large food court.

We recommend eating a snack prior to entering the Museum so your group has energy to play until you leave for lunch. Field trips are not permitted re-entry to the Museum after leaving to eat.

All field trips are scheduled for approximately 1.5 hours in the Museum. Field trips are not permitted re-entry to the Museum after leaving to eat.

The Museum can accommodate school groups of all sizes. If your group is larger than 170 people, please email our team directly at [email protected]. Ticket availability is based on a total of 170 tickets. For instance, if 50 tickets remain, it means 120 have been booked for the session block (am, midday, or pm).

Early Learner Centers, Pre-K, and mixed Pre-K and K groups over 50 students are encouraged to play in the Museum on Mondays.

Workshops can accommodate a maximum of 25 students, and we offer up to 3 workshops per day. If you are interested in a workshop and have more than 75 students, you will need to visit the Museum over multiple days. We are unable to provide workshops for more than 75 students per day.

Our minimum chaperone requirements are:

  • K-2: 1 adult required for every 5 students
  • 3-5: 1 adult required for every 10 students

We recommend 1 adult for every 5 students. 1 adult per 5 students will receive FREE Museum admission at ALL grade levels.

Exhibits within the Museum are ADA accessible. We have also designated quiet spaces for neurodiverse visitors. Sensory backpacks, which contain noise reduction headphones and fidgets, are available upon request. Specific accessibility questions and needs can be directed to the Education Team by email at [email protected] or by phone at 202-849-5978.
Groups must hand in a signed waiver prior to entering the Museum. The waiver details the same policies outlined when visitors purchase a Museum ticket. Based on their own policies, schools may choose to either bring one signed group waiver or a signed individual waiver for each attending student:

  • The group waiver is for groups that are able to sign a single waiver on behalf of all students.
  • The individual waiver is to be signed by each attending students’ parent or guardian—it is the responsibility of your group’s leader to collect and track individual waivers. If your group is collecting an individual waiver for each attending person, you do not need to complete a group waiver.

If you need to cancel or reschedule your field trip, please notify the Museum immediately by emailing [email protected]. Rescheduling is possible but dependent on availability.

Refunds will be made via the same method as the original purchase and are not available for cancellations made within 2 weeks of the field trip date or no shows.

Our guests’ safety is our top priority. As champions of science, National Children’s Museum continuously analyzes the latest COVID-19 data, research, and best practices to inform our health and safety policies. You can learn about the measures we’ve established to ensure your safe visit on our healthy visit page.

A deposit is not required. The full field trip payment is due 30 days after scheduling.

Our team will be in touch within 5 business days of receiving your booking request. Once your field trip is scheduled, you will receive an itemized invoice based on the information provided in your booking request. Payment is due 30 days after your field trip is scheduled. If payment is overdue at the time of your visit, the Museum reserves the right to cancel your field trip.

Our team will be in touch within 5 business days of receiving your booking request to schedule your visit. Once your field trip is scheduled, the field trip primary contact and billing contact will receive an itemized invoice from Quickbooks.

Full payment is due 30 days after your field trip is scheduled. The Museum prefers payment via credit card, but invoices can also be paid via check or ACH transfer.

You will be invoiced based on the information shared during booking. If more students and/or chaperones attend the field trip than were included in your booking form, the Museum will invoice you for the difference following your visit. Refunds are not available for changes in attendance or cancellations made within two weeks of the field trip date. Please note, if payment is overdue at the time of your visit, the Museum reserves the right to cancel your field trip.

If you have any questions regarding payment, please contact [email protected].

The Museum prefers credit card payment. The itemized invoice will include a link for processing the credit card payment and directions regarding accepted cards.

Payment by check or bank transfer is also accepted. Bank transfers must be initiated by contacting [email protected]. Checks should be mailed to the address below and reference the school name and invoice number in the memo.

1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington DC 20004

Please notify the Museum immediately by emailing [email protected].

We will do our best to accommodate groups with larger numbers than anticipated. However, the workshop classroom has a strict capacity limit due to safety considerations, and we reserve the right to turn groups away.

Please note, you will be charged for any persons in excess of the numbers provided in your booking request following your visit. Refunds are not available if fewer students and/or chaperones attend your trip than were included in your booking request.

Have additional questions? Contact us.

email:
fieldtrips@ nationalchildrensmuseum.org

phone:
call or text 202-849-5978