Field Trips

Preschool – 6th Grade

The Iowa Children’s Museum is an exceptional place to bring your school classroom, child care center, or another organized group for field trips that stimulate learning, creativity, and fun! Here you’ll find highly engaging exhibits that are aligned with the Iowa CORE Curriculum and challenge learners to apply educational concepts in a context that promotes deep conceptual understanding and 21st-century skills.

Inspiring students to develop creativity and problem-solving skills, we are proud to offer educators field trip adventures directly linked to school curricula. Field trip enrichment experiences at The Iowa Children’s Museum add 28,000 square feet of active learning to your classroom!

We offer three types of educational,
fun-filled field trips!

After a brief orientation, your group is free to explore The Museum’s exhibits at your own pace.  Chaperones must stay with the children in your group at all times during this field trip experience.

Self-Guided Field Trip Information

  • Nonprofits: Cost is $4 per child for a 90 minute visit; $4.50 for 2 hours (chaperones are free – one adult is required for every five children)
  • Other Groups: Cost is $5.50 per child for a 90 minute visit; $6.00 for 2 hours (chaperones are free- one adult is required for every five children)
  • Children’s Museum memberships and coupons cannot be applied to field trips
  • Times are available 7 days a week
  • Developmentally appropriate for preschool through grade six

To request a self-guided field trip for your group, please click here.

Add structure to your exploration of the entire museum with a hands-on scavenger hunt based on math, language arts, social studies, science, art, and drama activities. A very popular choice!

Scavenger Hunt Information

  • Nonprofits: Cost is $4.50 per child (chaperones are free- one adult is required for every five children)
  • Other Groups: Cost is $6.00 per child (chaperones are free- one adult is required for every five children)
  • Children’s Museum memberships and coupons cannot be applied to field trips
  • Time slots available 7 days a week
  • Field Trip lasts 120 minutes
  • Developmentally appropriate for kindergarten through grade six

To request a scavenger hunt field trip for your group, please click here.

Your group will experience an in-depth guided tour of an exhibit, focusing on problem-solving challenge activities that target specific concepts. During the first ninety minutes of your visit, your field trip exhibit will be closed to the general public. The last thirty minutes include open exploration of the entire museum.

Focused Field Trips are aligned with the Iowa CORE Curriculum and tie directly to classroom curricula. Educators receive pre- and post-visit materials that are pertinent to subject matter and easy to use.

CityWorks – Community in Action!

Role-play in a dynamic child-size town that includes a Grocery Store, Pizzeria, Hospital, City Money, City Music, Coral Cove, and Art & Design Studio. As students explore the exhibits, they immerse themselves in problem-solving challenges that are interactive and engaging. CityWorks’ interdisciplinary experiences give children opportunities to apply and extend their skills in social studies, math, science, and language arts in the context of an exciting community that is just their size!

MoneyWorks!  Developmentally appropriate for 3rd – 6th grades

This focused field trip takes place in the CityWorks gallery where students become wage earners and consumers and create a family budget based on their earnings and expenses. Spend! Save! Share! Find the fun in finances and discover the basic skills of money management in a town setting sized just for kids! MoneyWorks is designed to improve financial literacy and is offered FREE OF CHARGE through the generous support of GreenState Credit Union.

Take Flight – the science of aviation! – Currently unavailable

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math concepts embedded in a stimulating aviation themed learning environment engage students in active learning that promote STEM literacy.  Students learn about the forces of flight while testing their flying skills using the same flight simulators used by real pilots, navigate air traffic in a 2-story Air Traffic Control Tower, and blast off rockets 30 feet into the air!

 

Focused Field Trip Information

  • Nonprofits: Cost is $5.00 per child (chaperones free- one adult is required for every five children)
  • Other Groups: Cost is $6.50 per child (chaperones free- one adult is required for every five children)
  • Appropriate for groups of 15-40 students
  • Children’s Museum memberships and coupons cannot be applied to field trips
  • Time slots available on Mondays
  • 120 minutes
  • Developmentally appropriate for kindergarten through grade six

To request a focused field trip for your group, please click here.

Plan Ahead!

Reservation requests are processed in the order they are received and the best dates and times are booked early. You must make your field trip reservation a minimum of three weeks in advance to guarantee your reservation.

Group Size

The minimum number of students for a self-guided field trip or scavenger hunt is 10 students.  For a focused field trip the minimum number of students is 15.

Chaperones

Chaperones are required for all group visits and MUST remain with the group at all times. One adult is required for every five children. Chaperones must be at least 16 years of age. Teachers and chaperones receive free admission.

Please arrive on time!

Due to scheduling considerations, The Iowa Children’s Museum is unable to extend your field trip if you arrive late. If you are more than 30 minutes late for a Focused Field Trip you will automatically be given an orientation and self-guided field trip in lieu of your focused experience.

Lunch

Groups can purchase lunch in the Coral Ridge Mall Food Court or bring lunches to eat in the mall’s public space.  No food can be eaten in the museum.

Special Needs

We welcome children and adults with special needs. To request help with special needs, please contact Aimee at 319.625.6255 ext. 216 or reservations@theicm.org

Field Trip Welcome Packets

Before your class visits for their Focused Field Trip, click the links below to view the Welcome Packet.

CityWorks

MoneyWorks!

Take Flight

Robert E. Yager
Student Enrichment
Scholarship Fund 

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, The Iowa Children’s Museum is able to offer reduced rates for field trips through the Robert E. Yager Student Enrichment Scholarship Fund. These rates are based on the number of students in your school or classroom enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program. This scholarship program is open to any school district and every class is eligible for funding.

The Robert E. Yager Student Enrichment Scholarship Fund is limited, however, and allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis. For details, please contact Aimee at 319.625.6255 ext. 216 or email reservations@theicm.org.

 

This scholarship fund is available thanks to our generous sponsor:

Robert E. Yager

 

To support this fund, click here to donate to our Annual Fund Drive and designate the funds to the Robert E. Yager Student Enrichment Scholarship Fund.