School Field Trips

Now taking reservations through June 2022.

Reservations and the completion of a field trip agreement are required for school visits to the Planetarium & Science Center. Typically the person making a reservation will be designated the Field Trip Coordinator. They will be responsible for completing the reservation, arranging payment, and sharing our field trip agreement with all visiting teachers. We will need the following information to complete your reservation:

• Requested field trip
• School site
• Student grade level(s)		• Number of students
• Full names of all visiting teachers
• Program selection
• Which visiting teacher is designated Field Trip Coordinator and their contact information (phone and email)
• Site administrator contact information (phone and email)

To get started, please call us at (559) 733-6433. You can also send the above information to us at planetarium@tcoe.org.

Fees

There are no student or teacher admission fees for schools located in Tulare County. We also welcome schools from outside of Tulare County with a student admission fee of $3. Chaperone admission is $4 for all schools.

Admission fees may be paid by cash, check or credit card. Schools will be invoiced for any outstanding fees.

Chaperone Policy

If you would like to bring chaperones on a field trip we will recommend a maximum number. This is based on our theater layout and visitor count and ensures that student visitors are given priority seating and the best view. Chaperones in excess of our recommendation are not guaranteed a seat next to their child. The field trip coordinator will need to determine which chaperones will be seated with their child.

Chaperones arriving after a program begins will not be able to join a field trip until verified by a visiting teacher, typically at the first available break one hour into a field trip. Chaperones should be aware that a field trip may begin before the scheduled time.

Scheduling

Programs are scheduled in one-hour blocks beginning at 9:30 a.m. One hour typically provides enough time for a theater program, supplemental night-sky tours, restroom and snack breaks. Field trips with more than 35 visitors are typically divided by classroom and will use both our planetarium and exhibit hall theaters. In the following example we've scheduled a visit from two fourth-grade classes:

Bus arrives 9:15 a.m.9:30AM to 10:30 a.m.10:30AM to 11:30 a.m.
Mrs. Green's ClassSecrets of Gravity in the PlanetariumEl Camino Real in the Exhibit Hall
Mr. Rojo's ClassEl Camino Real in the Exhibit HallSecrets of Gravity in the Planetarium

If you have any questions please contact us at (559) 733-6433 or planetarium@tcoe.org.