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Field Trips
Let the Zoo be your Classroom!

Field Trips at The Zoo

Field Trips at the Zoo

FIELD TRIP REGISTRATION FOR THE 2023–2024 SCHOOL YEAR IS NOW ON SALE!

SIGN UP HERE

Basic Field Trip Costs

Field trip pricing is available only for public, private, and homeschool school groups visiting the Zoo between Aug. 1, 2023 and May 24, 2024.

Advanced registration online is required to get the best school field trip rate.

Advanced Field Trip Registration:

Student admission

 $10.00 each

Adult chaperone admission (including parents, volunteers and homeschool parents)

 $10.00 each

School employees (including teachers, aides and bus drivers)

 FREE on day of field trip

Bus parking on visit date

 FREE on day of field trip

All other vehicles

 $10.00 each
Same-Day Field Trip Pricing:

Student admission

 $15.00 each

Adult chaperone admission (including parents, volunteers and homeschool parents)

 $15.00 each

School employees (including teachers, aides and bus drivers)

 FREE on day of field trip

Bus parking on visit date

 FREE on day of field trip

All other vehicles

 $10.00 each
Planning Your Field Trip
  • How to Register
    • Choose your date.
    • Make an online reservation, including an estimate of the number of students and adults, at least 2 weeks in advance. Note that schools that do not make an advanced registration will be invoiced an increased admission rate at the entrance gate.
    • Add custom experiences for your group, such as lunch or an educational program (see below).
    • No payment is needed at the time of reservation. When you arrive, you will provide the final number of students and adults. Your school will be invoiced after the 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.
    • Groups must have at least 15 people, including teachers and adult chaperones. One adult at least 19 years of age is required to always accompany every 10 students (through Grade 12).
    • 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!
    • 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.
    • Download a Wild Learning Guide [add link to Wild Learning Guide on Teacher Resource page]: 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. Field Trip FAQs
School Program Guide

Are you planning a visit to the zoo and want to help your students understand what their field trip may be like? We've created an online resource to help students and teachers explore the Zoo experience before their visit.

View the Guide

Have Questions?

See our Field Trip FAQs for more information. Plus, check out ways to customize your field trip below!
For other questions, please email us at edustaff@indyzoo.com for the fastest response.

RESERVE YOUR EXPERIENCE TODAY!

RESERVE NOW
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FIELD TRIP EXTRAS

What’s better than a field trip to the Zoo?

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!

SIGN UP HERE

NEW in 2023: 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! No other outside food is permitted in the Zoo, so take advantage of this option just for teachers and students. (Limited picnic space also is available outside the Zoo’s gates near the parking areas.)

Additional Lunch Options

  • Order box lunches. Eliminate the hassle of managing your class’s sack lunches! Order box lunches for your group through the Zoo’s caterer, Centerpoint. Menus, pricing and order forms are available here.
  • Buy your lunch at the Zoo Café. Due to limited seating capacity at this location, we recommend purchasing food onsite only for smaller groups. With this option, you may sit anywhere in the Zoo where food is permitted to enjoy your meal.
NOCTURNAL ADVENTURES

Make your students’ dreams come to life with an overnight field trip to the Zoo!

The Zoo is a very different place after the sun goes down! Which animals are down for a snooze, and which ones want to stay up all night? Come explore how different animals spend their time in the dark and why nighttime is an important part of wild places. You might find some surprises along the way!

LEARN MORE

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VIRTUAL CLASSROOM ADVENTURES

Can’t make it to the Zoo for an in-person field trip? Virtual Classroom Connect Sessions bring the Zoo live into your classroom instead!

Students can chat with a Zoo Educator using a virtual platform. Each session lasts 30 minutes. You can choose from a topic-based session or a Question & Answer session.

LEARN MORE

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