Field Trips General Information

Hours

Monday* - Friday: 10 am – 5 pm

(arrival time can be moved earlier to accommodate groups of 100 or more)

*Closed on Mondays from September through February except for Sarasota and Manatee county school holidays.

School Visit Prices

Museum Admission

Students: $5.00 per student (15 or more students)

Less than 15 students - $7.00 per student

Required Chaperones

(Required Chaperones are free!)

PK: 1 Chaperone per 5 students

K-12th: 1 Chaperone per 10 students

Extra Chaperones @ $5.00 each

Special Exhibit Up-Charge (when applicable)

Up-Charge is determined by exhibit copmany

School Visit Add-ons

Educational Programs: ADD $3.00 per student

Small Group or Assembly, 15 students minimum

GWIZ coupons, GWIZ memberships, or other science museum

memberships may NOT be used for school visits.

Visits must be booked at least 2 weeks in advance to secure areas/programs. Deposit required at time of reservation.

Book your Field Trip

Contacts

Trelawny Ferraro, Registrar:

(941)309-4949 x 100 / trelawnyf@gwiz.org

Diane Harrison, Education Programs Coordinator:

(941)309-4949 x 104 / dianeh@gwiz.org

Deposits, Cancellations & Final Payments

A deposit of $50 or 50% of the total, whichever is less, is required at the time of booking.
Cancellations should be made at least 14 days prior to your scheduled trip. GWIZ will retain a $15 processing fee for trips cancelled prior to deadline. No refund is available for cancellations within the 14 days before a scheduled trip.
Final payment must be made in full prior to or upon arrival. Acceptable payment methods are cash, check, or credit card (VISA, MC, AMEX, Discover)

Programs

Programs last approximately 30 minutes and have maximum capacities per 30-minute program. If you have a greater number of students than the maximum capacity, additional programs can be scheduled to accommodate your group.

15 students minimum required to book a program. All programs are designed and adjusted to fit grade level needs.

Small Group Programs

(max capacity: 33 students)

Animal Defenses (PK - 2nd)

Ooey Gooey Gloop (K - 3rd)

Planetary Shuffle (PK - 3rd, 5th)

Power Up (4th - 12th)

Reptile Encounters (1st-3rd)

Rockin Geology (4th, 6th, 7th)

Silly Snakes (K - 1st)

Six Plant Parts (K - 3rd)

Sky Time (4th, 8th)

Soil Searching (2nd, 4th)

Weather Works (6th, 9th-12th)

Assembly Programs

(max capacity: 60 students)

Electricity Unplugged (2nd - 12th)

Fact of the Matter (2nd - 12th)

Illumination Fascination (3rd - 7th)

Vibration Station (3rd - 7th)

Water Cycle Boogie (1st - 3rd)

Young Isaac Newton (1st - 12th)

Click here to download full program descriptions,

grade levels and benchmarks.

Financial Assistance

The museum has limited financial assistance funds available for Title I schools. The funds are limited and may only be used for general GWIZ field trip admission costs (demonstrations and special exhibit costs are not included). Assistance paperwork must be approved at least one month prior to visit. Email Trelawny Ferraro at trelawnyf@gwiz.org to receive assistance forms.

Your Visit to GWIZ

Plan your time

How much time would you like to spend exploring the main exhibit floor?

How many 30 minute programs would you like to schedule?

Are you adding on a Special Exhibit visit? (when applicable)

Don’t forget to schedule time for orientation and lunch!

Most groups will require two hours to explore the main museum exhibits (not including Special Exhibits) and a half hour to eat lunch. Pre K groups tend to spend one and a half hours exploring the main museum exhibits. If you have added educational programs, please allow additional time for your visit.

Assemble the following info before calling:

Contact information: Lead educator, school address, phone, fax and email.
Attendees: Grade level, number of students, number of teachers and chaperones (1 chaperone per 10 students is required to escort your students during their entire visit)
Dates and times: Visit Date, alternate date, arrival and departure time
Add-on choices: Educational Programs and/or Special Exhibit time you would like to add on to your museum visit
Lunch: Do you need to reserve a lunch space and time? Lunch reservations must be scheduled in advance to ensure an allotted eating space.
Special needs: Please notify us of any special needs your students may have.
Procure information for trip deposit: Credit card number, check, or cash payment) Deposit must be paid at time of booking to reserve your trip.

Click here to download Chaperone Guidelines.

Be sure to share these responsibilities with your chaperones before your trip.

Arrival

Bus drop-off: Buses may drop off students at the front entrance on Boulevard of the Arts or at the Garden Walk via the GWIZ parking lot. Students can then follow the Garden Walk to the main entrance.

Check-in: The group leader should obtain a final headcount of all attendees, including chaperones and teachers. Combine money into ONE group payment and designate a representative to check-in your group and make that payment at the admissions desk. GWIZ accepts cash, school checks, or major credit cards. (Visa, MC, AMEX, Discover)

Students, teachers and chaperones will gather outside of the front entrance awning for a brief orientation on exhibits, programs, restrooms and lunch times from a GWIZ staff member.

Lunches: Boxed and bagged lunches must be kept on the bus and all lunches need to be scheduled in advance.

During your visit

Teachers & Chaperones: All chaperones must be 18 years of age or older. Chaperone and teacher participation during your visit is MANDATORY.

Teachers / Chaperones are responsible for:

the students’ safety and behavior
staying with the students at all times
ensuring that your group cleans up after themselves, especially in the picnic area and the bathrooms
accompanying students while in the gift shop

After your visit

Please evaluate your experience so that we can better serve you on your next visit.

Click here to download the evaluation form, provide your feedback.

Email the form to jenniferh@gwiz.org.

Back to the Education Page