Field Trips
The Anchorage Museum offers field trips that are learner driven, object focused, and inquiry based. Our Field Trips experiences provide multiple perspectives and ways of learning about Alaska and the North.
We have three field trip offerings – Self-guided, Facilitated, and Virtual. All Field Trips must be scheduled at least 2 weeks in advance of the requested program date.
All Field Trips require 1 chaperone per 5 elementary and middle school students and 1 chaperone for every 10 high school students.
- Participate in one of our five facilitated school group experiences. Connect to our exhibitions and objects through museum educator led activities and discussion.
- Facilitated programs are offered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday starting at 10 a.m.
- Facilitated experiences are $6 per student and chaperone. Educators and staff receive free admission with staff ID badge.
- Title 1 schools are $5 per student. Chaperones, educators, and staff receive free admission with staff ID badge.
- Lead your students on an exploration of our galleries and exhibitions. Support these experiences with museum resources.
- Self-guided experiences are offered Tuesday through Friday starting at 10 a.m. Self-guided visits are $3 per student and chaperone. Educators and staff receive free admission with staff ID badge.
- Title 1 schools are $3 per student. Chaperones, educators, and staff receive free admission with staff ID badge
- Participate in one of our four virtual field trips. Join a museum educator over Zoom for an hour of learning and fun.
- Virtual field trips are free due to the generous support of GCI and Chevron. Virtual field trips are offered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
- Food and drink is not allowed in the galleries. Eating and drinking is permitted in designated areas of the Museum.
- Some objects are fragile and should not be touched. Other displays are meant to be interacted with and touched. Please help support your students to touch only hands-on displays. Consult gallery signage or museum staff with questions.
- Large backpacks and bags must be checked. Carts and lockers will be provided for your group.
- Participating actively and creatively is encouraged. We ask that you help remind students that yelling and running are not permitted, so as not to disturb other visitors.
- Cameras are permitted in most exhibitions, but no flash photography, videography or tripods are allowed.
Please plan early. The Anchorage Museum has limited availability for group visits. We recommended educators complete the field trip request form at least two months in advance of desired field trip date. The museum requires requests be submitted at least two weeks in advance. Note that due to high demand for visits, the museum may be unable to accommodate first choice requests.
Pre-registration is required to receive reduced educational admission rates. Groups not pre-registered will need to pay general admission rates and will not have access to school programs or space to eat lunch. When registering for field trips, please note, the museum is closed Mondays October through April.
Teacher-Guided Exploration (no programming)
Students $3 each
Teachers/School Staff Free admission with badge
Chaperones $3 each; fees waived for chaperones accompanying students from Title I schools
Facilitated Programming (minimum 10 students)
Students $6 each; $5 each for students from Title I schools
Teachers/School Staff Free admission with badge
Chaperones $6 each; fees waived for chaperones accompanying students from Title I schools
Members $6; Membership benefits do not apply to facilitated school-group programs.
REGISTRATION
After reviewing all policies, complete the field trip request form to begin the registration process for a school field trip at the Anchorage Museum. After receipt of the registration request, museum staff will coordinate with you to finalize your visit. Teachers may contact the museum at fieldtrips@anchoragemuseum.org or at (907) 929-9280 with questions or for assistance with registration requests.
Payment
Payment for field trips can be made via cash, check or credit card. We take payment the day of the field trip after taking a final headcount. Please note that we cannot provide change for checks made out for more than the amount due. Museum memberships do not apply to field trip experiences.
FIELD TRIP CANCELLATION
If you arrive late, we will not be able to extend the field trip, but we will do our best to accommodate as much as possible with the remaining time. To ensure a quality field trip experience, it is important for the group to arrive and depart on time.
To cancel or alter a field trip, please contact the museum five business days prior to a scheduled field trip, or a cancellation fee may apply. Scheduled field trips that are not canceled at least two full business days prior will be charged for the program fees in full.
The museum offers a discounted price for Title I schools to participate in facilitated programming. Other scholarships may be available for your group; to learn more about available scholarship opportunities, email fieldtrips@anchoragemuseum.org or call (907) 929-9280.
If you are traveling by school bus, there is a bus drop-off zone at the Seventh Avenue Museum entrance. If parents are driving students to the museum, street parking is available, and there are seven public pay lots within a two-block radius. See parking information for a detailed list of options.
The museum does not validate or reimburse parking fees. The museum opens at 10 a.m. October through April. No early entrance is allowed. Please review your field trip arrival instructions for more details of when and where to meet the morning of your field trip.
You may arrange for your class to have a brown bag lunch during your visit on the visit request form. For a field trip group to eat lunches in the museum’s atrium, tables must be reserved in advance. Tables are only available at certain times and are on a first-come, first-served basis. Food and drink is not allowed in galleries.
- The museum requires one adult chaperone for every five pre-K through 8th grade students. High school field trips must have one adult chaperone for every 10 students. Eighteen-year-old students may not serve as chaperones. The museum requests that parent chaperones not bring siblings on field trips. If it is necessary, full admission will need to be paid for sibling(s). Siblings are not allowed to participate in field trip activities.
- Any chaperone not present during the start of the field trip will need to enter through the main entrance and pay regular admission at the front desk. It is important that the entire field trip party is present, on time, to attend the mandatory orientation session at the beginning of every field trip.
- Students must remain with their chaperones at all times while they are in the museum. Please see museum conduct guidelines for chaperones. Chaperones are expected to help support appropriate behavior. Membership benefits do not apply to school-group programs.
- If you would like to spend additional time in the museum after the field trip, please return to the main entrance to pay admission at the front desk. The field-trip fee does not cover the price of general admission.
We encourage school groups to arrive to the museum as close to their established arrival time as possible. However, we recognize that there are many factors that affect transportation to the museum.
If you are running late, please reach out to the Education Coordinator and share your updated arrival time. We will try our best to accommodate these late arrivals. However, if late facilitated group visits will affect other group experiences, we will alter the visit package to a Self-guided Visit.
For early arrivals, please know that the Anchorage Museum does not open its doors until 10:00AM. Early arrivals will be asked to wait to enter the museum until this time.
The Anchorage Museum offers a range of online resources and publications to support your visit to the Anchorage Museum. View our current teaching resources.
Teachers may contact the museum at fieldtrips@anchoragemuseum.org or at (907) 929-9280 with questions or for assistance with registration requests.
