Field Trip FAQs

• What ages are appropriate for field trips?

  Field trips to the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County are geared towards children in grades TK – 2.

• How far in advance should we schedule a field trip?
  

  *NOTICE: All docent-led field trip spaces are booked for the 2017 – 2018 school year (the waitlist is also full). Please check back in April 2018 for information about 2018-2019 field trips.

  We have spaces available for self-guided Group Visits, please see Group Visits for more information.

• Do we need a reservation for our field trip?
  

  Yes, we require that all groups with 12 children or more make a reservation for their visit as either a docent-led field trip, or group visit.

• Can we use memberships to pay for our field trip?
  

  No, memberships and other discounts/passes cannot be used towards field trips.

• 
  How many chaperones should we bring?

  We require one chaperone for every five students and we cannot guarantee admission to groups bringing less than the required number of chaperones.  However, we allow one chaperone for every three students and all chaperones up to the 1:3 ratio are admitted for free.  If you bring any adults above the 1:3 ratio, we will charge the museum general admission price.  Please be advised, if your number of students changes on the day of your visit, your free chaperone number will be adjusted as well.  All chaperones must be over the age of 18. Anyone under the age of 18 is considered a child.

• 
  Do teachers count as chaperones?

  No, you are allowed to bring 1 teacher per class in addition to the chaperones.

• How do we pay for our field trip?

  You may for your field trip with cash, check or credit card. We ask that you pay before your visit, or on the day of. We do not accept late payments.

• What is your field trip cancellation policy?

  All field trips must be canceled/rescheduled at least 4 weeks in advance. No-show groups and groups that cancel/reschedule less than 4 weeks in advance will be subject to pay 50% of the field trip fee.

• What happens on a rainy day?

  There are rainy day procedures in place for the field trip programs.  However, our eating space is very limited on rainy days since most of our tables are outside.  Please contact the School & Community Programs Coordinator at schoolprograms@cmosc.org regarding rainy day details for your specific trip.

• Where should our buses drop-off/pick-up?

  Buses must drop-off and pick-up in the Museum’s parking lot. Buses may NOT park in the Museum parking lot, they will need to park at the Coddingtown Mall if they are waiting for students.

• Do you have somewhere we can eat lunch?

  Weather permitting, your group may eat lunch in our picnic areas. Please be advised that these areas are open to all Museum visitors. Aside from water, no other food or drinks are allowed in the Museum exhibits.

• Do you have somewhere we can store our lunches/belongings?

  Yes, your group will be assigned bins in which to store your lunches and other belongings. Please do not leave valuable items in the group bins; the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County is not responsible for items left in the bins.

• Do students need to wear name tags?  

  It is helpful to us to know the students first names, but please defer to your schools policy.

Do you have a question that we didn’t answer?  

Please email schoolprograms@cmosc.org, or call the Museum at 707-546-4069 x 113.

More Information

Field Trip Programs