Field trip payment is due at least 14 days before your visit. Please mail check payments to:
Field Museum of Natural History - OPS 75 Remittance Drive Suite #1128 Chicago, IL 60675-1128
Groups that register less than 14 days in advance of their field trip must pay any balance remaining on their invoice upon arrival at the Museum.
We are unable to accept purchase orders (POs) as payment.
Cancellations or changes to your reservation must be made 14 days prior to the scheduled visit to receive a refund. Groups that arrive to the museum with fewer people than originally paid for will not receive a refund.
To cancel or make changes to your reservation, email fieldtrip@fieldmuseum.org.
Lunch
Reserved Seating
School groups that would like to eat lunch at the Museum in our lunchroom, the Siragusa Center, must register for a lunch time when you register for a field trip. School groups and nonprofit youth-based organizations in Illinois can use the facility for free with pre-registration.
Student groups may bring their own lunches. Coolers are not permitted. Museum staff will collect your group’s lunches when you arrive and set lunches out at your assigned lunch time. (Coats can also be stored for groups who pre-register to use the Siragusa Center. Backpacks are not considered “lunch bags” and cannot be stored.)
Please arrive at the Siragusa Center five minutes prior to your scheduled lunch time.
Open Seating
Free lunch seating without a reservation is available in the Sea Mammals area on the Ground Level and outdoors on the patio or grass area. This limited space is first-come, first served. Groups choosing this option will carry their own lunches throughout the visit and eat on their own schedule.
Chaperones
Student group chaperones are welcome to the museum and we encourage groups to bring as many chaperones as needed, since there is no charge for additional chaperones. In order to ensure that groups have a great visit, pre-K through 5th-grade students must be accompanied by a minimum of one adult for every five students. Students in 6th through 12th grade must be accompanied by a minimum of one adult for every ten students.
Chaperones must stay with and supervise the conduct of their students at all times. Teachers and other chaperones who have not pre-registered are not eligible for the discounted group rate and are subject to the full retail admission costs upon arrival.
Failure to abide by the required chaperone ratio or adequately supervise the group may result in your group being asked to leave the museum.
Student behavior
Every visitor deserves to have an exciting, educational day at the museum. Please carefully read and share the following behavior expectations to all students and chaperones.
Be safe
- When students first enter an exhibition, give them time to acclimate. The excitement of field trips can be overwhelming for some students.
- Students of all ages must remain with a chaperone at all times.
- Running, rough-housing, and climbing on exhibit structures are not permitted.
- Field Museum docents, other staff members, and security guards are available to offer assistance.
Be respectful
- Food, drink, and gum are not allowed in the exhibitions.
- Be considerate of other museum guests.
- Be a steward of Field Museum property.
- Touch objects only when signage or staff say it’s OK.
- Bring clipboards, science notebooks, or another hard surface to write on instead of writing on display cases.
- Students may sit on the floor to closely observe exhibitions provided that traffic flow is not blocked.
- Use indoor voices and set all cell phones to silent mode.
Be curious
- Create questions before visiting the Field Museum. Our educator resources have activities and questions for learners of all ages.
- Students can develop “I wonder” statements to investigate during their visit. For example, “I wonder why the bird’s beak is shaped that way.”
- Record scientific observations through notes, illustrations, or photographs.
- Photography is permitted in all permanent exhibitions. Look for signs indicating when a temporary exhibition cannot be photographed.
- Continue to think critically after your visit: compare observations, analyze and interpret collected data, and construct explanations.
Buses
Buses and motor coaches should drop off and pick up students only at the barrier-free East Entrance. To access this entrance:
- Travel north on Museum Campus Drive past McFetridge Drive, toward the Adler Planetarium.
- Turn left at the first stop sign and turn left again to head back west toward the Museum.
- Turn right into the East Entrance drop-off area.
Buses can park free on Canal Street at Roosevelt Road, approximately one mile due west of the Museum Campus. Canal Street offers several restaurants and coffee shops where drivers can wait until called back for pickup. Buses cannot stage on Solidarity Drive or in the museum drop-off areas.
Fees in lots on and adjacent to the Museum Campus are $11 to $80, based on availability and type of vehicle. Please check parking fees before you visit. School, tour and charter buses may park in the lot adjacent to Adler Planetarium, managed by Standard Parking (312-235-7724).
