Field Trips
What is a MoChiMu Field Trip?
MoChiMu Field Trips are a two-hour long, self-guided learning experience for groups between 25 - 120 people.
Field Trips are available for an “AM Session” from 9:00AM-11:00AM or a “PM Session” from 12:00-2:00PM. We offer a “date-based pricing” model to offer lower cost of admission for groups depending on when they visit!
All Field Trips begin with a demonstration led by a MoChiMu Educator, followed by chaperone-led exploration throughout the Museum’s 10 exhibit spaces filled with interactive learning opportunities.
At the end of your visit, a MoChiMu Team Member will organize a group “farewell” and help get your group heading back to school!
Information for planning your Field Trip
In your confirmation email from the Modesto Children’s Museum you will receive our “Field Trip Planning Check List” with additional details and information to best plan your visit to MoChiMu. Here are some helpful things to know now, even before you book your visit!
The Museum requires a 1:5 adult to child ratio for all group visits, so please plan on recruiting one adult chaperone for every group of five students.
Our date-based pricing model applies for any “Group Sale,” so schools or organizations paying for all attendees can utilize reduced admission rates during certain dates. However, chaperones who are asked to pay for their own admission upon arrival are not a part of the “group sale,” and will pay our standard admission rate of $15 per person.
Field Trip Payment Information
We ask that all Field Trips pay at 50% deposit within two weeks of booking their visit in order to secure their date. Please do not submit a full payment, as oftentimes Field Trip attendee numbers can change day-of!
Information regarding Field Trip payment will be sent in your confirmation email, if you have any questions please email education@modestochildrensmuseum.org.
Field Trip FAQs
Trip basics
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At MoChiMu, a field trip is scheduled for two hours. During that time:
A MoChiMu educator steps aboard the arriving bus to organize and provide basic rules
Students are split into small groups of no more than five students to every one adult
The whole group participates in a 10-minute interactive welcome show at the museum’s Tall Tales Stage
Small, adult-led groups have about 90 minutes to freely explore the museum’s exhibit areas with the help of a printed Chaperone Guide
the group returns to the Tall Tales Stage for a finale read-aloud and goodbye
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Our maximum group size is 100 total students, which would require 20 adults for a maximum group size of about 120 people. Larger groups will need to book more than one visit (either on different days or morning / afternoon groups) as needed.
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We require a 1:5 adult to student ratio. For example, a class of 30 would require at least 6 adults (teachers, paraprofessionals, and adult volunteer chaperones); a group of 60 students would require 12 adults, and so on.
Adults do not provide general, “recess duty” supervision. Instead, they are active and engaged leaders of small groups, responsible for maintaining their group the entire time they visit!
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Note that parents beyond your chosen chaperones cannot attend by separately purchasing a ticket. There are a few reasons you can use to explain to parents:
For safety reasons: We do not admit an adult without an accompanying child, and reunions at the front desk will not be possible given the nature of the visit. It is beyond the capacity of our team to ensure that adults who show up to see their child are approved to do so. Therefore, we simply do not facilitate this kind of experience.
For operational reasons: the museum may not be open to the public at the time of the field trip. Our doors may be locked and our computer systems turned off. We cannot facilitate the sale of a ticket as our team’s focus is on the field trip itself.
In other words, we will need to turn away any parents who come to the museum alone to try to buy a separate ticket to visit with their child or act as a “non-school-sanctioned chaperone.” Anyone who shows up must be an active, school-sanctioned chaperone paid for by the school.
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Once you self-select and reserve a date through our online system, our team will email you to confirm, provide planning resources, and tell you the amount due as a deposit based on your estimated attendance and the price of the date you chose.
A 50% deposit based on your estimated attendance (children + minimum 1:5 ratio adults) is required within one week of securing your date in order to hold and confirm your spot for this spring. Please do not pay in full prior to your visit, as your final numbers may be more or fewer people than your initial estimate. To submit your deposit…:
To pay with a credit card: Call our Administrative Coordinator, Caroline, at 209-232-6060 ex. 108 during regular business hours.
To pay with a check: Send a check made out to Modesto Children’s Museum to MoChiMu, 928 11th St. Modesto CA 95354. Please include your school’s visit date on the memo line.
If you require an official written estimate in order to pay the deposit: Reach out to Caroline (209-232-6060 ex. 108, or cyoung@modestochildrensmuseum.org)
Two weeks prior to your confirmed visit, you’ll receive a call from MoChiMu’s Education Team to discuss details for the day! We look forward to seeing you soon!
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New for the 2025 - 2026 school year, we are proud to offer a date-based pricing calendar for Field Trips. As a result, we offer “Access Days” (primarily in the fall) with reduced admission rates for schools who identify the need to visit during this time of year.
Please note that the museum’s SNAP / EBT discount and Membership do not apply to group visits. Every member of your group check-in will be charged at the rate of your visit date.
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If you have already paid in full and require a refund, you must request that refund be processed by calling our Administrative Coordinator at 209-232-6060 ex. 108 within two weeks (14 days) of your Field Trip.
Note that this is why we request just the 50% deposit payment – so that we can adjust the final total to match your actual attendance day-of.
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Unfortunately, the sustainability of our nonprofit organization requires that all attendees – students, teachers, and chaperones – are paid for. (Did you know that the museum’s entry fee alone does not cover our operating costs?) Therefore, we do not currently have funding to offset the cost of admission for adults. Not to mention, we want adults to “play along” and stay engaged, questioning, learning, and exploring for themselves, too!
Beginning June 1 2025, we will no longer offer our discounted chaperone admission to groups achieving a 1:3 ratio. This discount has been replaced by our date-based calendar discounts, which provide lower-cost dates for all.