children exiting a bus for a field trip
Let the Zoo Be Your Classroom

School Field Trips

Register Now!

Field Trip Costs

Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 Field Trip Registration Open Now! Field trip pricing is available only for public, private and homeschool groups of at least 15 students ages Pre-K through 12th grade who all are attending on the same day and arrive to the Zoo at the same time. Fall 2025 field trips will run Monday-Friday, August 4 - November 21. Spring 2026 field trips will run Monday-Friday, January 12 - May 2.
Online Registration
  • Student: $10
  • Adult Chaperone (including parents): $10
  • School Employees (teachers, aides, bus drivers): FREE on day of field trip
  • Bus parking: FREE on day of field trip
  • All other vehicles: $10 per vehicle
  • We strongly encourage schools pay in advance, either by credit card or purchase order.  This ensures your group will receive the discounted $10 per person rate and speeds up the check-in process when you arrive at the Zoo.
    • *If you enter in a credit card number at registration it will be charged on the day you complete your reservation. It is not a hold on your credit card.*
  • If you provide us with a purchase order number you can either:
    • Bring a form of payment with you on the day of your field trip.
    • Be invoiced after your field trip.
    • You also have the flexibility to update your student/chaperone numbers up to 24 hours before the date of your field trip by emailing us at edustaff@indyzoo.com.
  • You may choose not to provide a purchase order number or credit card information upon registration. However, all field trip reservation balances that are not paid via credit card or by providing a purchase order number two or more weeks in advance will be subject to an increased group rate of $15 per student and chaperone.  
  • Schools are not eligible for a refund if they arrive to the Zoo with fewer students or chaperones than what is listed on their reservation.
  • Memberships may not be used for field trips. This is notated on the back of each membership card.
  • If you are making a field trip reservation less than two weeks in advance, you will receive the $10 rate only if you pay by credit card upon registration. If you do not provide a method of payment, the price per student and adult chaperone will be increased to $15 each.
  • You must contact us at least 24 hours in advance if you need to cancel or reschedule your field trip for any reason.
  • Ready to reserve your field trip?  Make sure you have your date, your student, staff and chaperone numbers and a method of payment on hand. 
  • Be sure to check out additional custom experiences for your group, such as lunch reservations or an educational program (see below). 
penguins in the ocean exhibit at indy zoo

NEW! Sponsored Field Trip Tickets

We have some exciting news for the 2025-2026 school year. Thanks to generous donations and sponsors, we are able to provide Title 1 schools in Indiana with up to fifty (50) free tickets for a field trip booked for the 2025 fall semester (Aug 4 – Nov 21) or the first half of the 2026 spring semester (Jan 5 – Mar 27). Tickets are limited and will be allocated to schools on a first-come, first-served basis.

More information and an application for tickets will open on Tuesday July 15, 2025!

Plan Your Field Trip

Helpful Tips
    • The field trip rate does not apply to weekend visits, daycares or summer camps, dates outside of our field trip season or special Zoo events such as ZooBoo and Christmas at the Zoo. Due to the late opening of the Zoo, for our Christmas at the Zoo celebration, there are no school field trips from Nov. 22, 2024 through Jan. 6, 2025.
    • Groups must have at least 15 students. One adult at least 19 years of age is required to always accompany every 10 students through 12th grade.
    • Memberships may not be used for field trips. This is notated on the back of each membership card.
    • Adult chaperone tickets must be included on the field trip invoice and paid for at the same time as the student tickets.
    • Explore the exhibits at the Zoo on our website ahead of time to ensure your students see everything on your list. View the daily schedule and events page to see what special animal presentations and programs will be happening on your field trip date.
    • Dolphin Presentations are included in your admission, but capacity is limited. Tickets are no longer required, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Plan to get there early, as doors open 30 minutes before the posted showtime.
    • Thursdays and Fridays are the most popular days of the week for field trips, especially in the spring. On high-attendance days, school buses will be required to park in the Zoo’s South Lot, and lunch seating may be limited. For smaller crowd sizes, consider visiting earlier in the week or in the fall or winter. September and October are great months to spend time outdoors at the Zoo!
    • If you need to cancel or reschedule your field trip, please call 317-630-2000 or email us at edustaff@indyzoo.com at least 24 hours in advance. No refunds or invoice adjustments will be given with less than 24 hours’ notice
    • Groups are welcome to bring their lunch or purchase box lunches. If you are bringing your lunch, reserve your lunch time as part of your reservation to secure a picnic location inside the Zoo. Groups may bring water bottles into the Zoo. If you wish to purchase box lunches, please fill out the order form.
    • When you arrive for your field trip, please bring your completed Field Trip Check In Form with your accurate count of students, chaperones and staff.
    • Download a Wild Learning Guide (see below): These FREE packets contain self-guided enrichment activities that include pre- and post-activities for your own classroom. Each guide is aligned with both the Indiana Academic Standards and Next Generation Science Standards.

Have more questions? See our Field Trip FAQs for more information!

children looking at tiger through a window

Field Trip Extras

A field trip with STEM content customized to your learners’ ages and curriculum! Add a NEW Learning Safari Guided Tour or a popular STEM Investigations Classroom Program to your field trip registration and let our trained Zoo educators take your students on an educational journey they won’t soon forget!

Are you a preschool teacher? Check out our NEW Wild Wonders program for preschool groups. Add this program on to your scheduled field trip to create an incredible learning experience for your young ones!

Blue-throated macaw

School Lunch Picnic Area Inside The Zoo

If you are planning to bring lunches with you, you will want to register for a time to use our designated outdoor picnic area. Lunches will be collected from your group on entry and delivered to the school lunch area for use during your registered time.

Lunch reservations go quickly, so be sure to sign up for your field trip and add a lunch reservation early!

Wild Learning Guides

Looking for resources to help your learners delve deeper on their field trip? Choose one of these programs for class activities before, during and after your field trip.
Field Investigation—Ethograms and Animal Behavior

Zoo keepers learn a lot from observing the animals they work with each day. Ethograms are used to record animal behavior. Learn how zoo keepers observe animals and complete your own ethogram.

 

Ethogram Information

 

Ethogram Observation Form

Zoo Exhibit Design

At a zoo or aquarium, it is the job of a designer to help create the habitat for an animal. In order to build a habitat for an animal in a zoo setting a designer must understand the needs of the animal, keepers and guests. Learn more about the design process and create your own exhibit design.

 

Zoo Exhibit Design Information

 

Observe and Draw a Zoo Exhibit Form

 

Zoo Exhibit Survey Form

 

Zoo Exhibit Design Blueprint Template