Educational Programs
Wild Field Trips
Transform your curriculum
Our trained tour guides will take your students on a one-hour guided tour, introducing them to over 20 species and connecting their characteristics and adaptations to your grade level-specific science concepts. Suitable for any grade level, tours are designed to meet North Carolina Standard Course of Study science goals and objectives. We’d love to work with you to design an experience to complement your classroom content! We welcome students in art classes, career and technical education classes, special needs classes and more! Wild Field Trips can be scheduled for Wednesdays through Sundays, but we are most able to accommodate large groups of 50-100 students on Thursdays and Fridays. Please plan to schedule at least 3-4 weeks in advance to ensure availability. Wild Field Trips are designed for public, private, and homeschool groups of 15 or more only, pre-k through 12th grade. For all other types of groups, please see our Group Tours.
- Spots, Stripes, and Animal Types (kindergarten): From big to small, cats to dogs, and spotted to striped, observe and compare the differing physical characteristics of our animals.
- My Habitat and Me (1st grade): Learn about the individual needs of our animals and how they are met through the specific characteristics of their environments.
- Growing Up Wild (2nd grade): Meet animals from young to old, discovering how they grow and change throughout their lives.
- Survival Secrets (4th grade): Recognize the specialized adaptations of a variety of species that allow them to survive and thrive in their wild worlds.
- Eco-Connections (5th grade): From apex predators to keystone species, explore how our animals interact with the other plants and animals found in their ecosystems.
- Genetics of Survival (7th grade): Examine the inherited traits and adaptations of species that provide advantages and disadvantages to survival in the wild.
- Creature Connections (8th grade): By considering the interconnected nature of ecosystems, discover the relationships among varying environmental factors and animal species.
- Wildlife Investigation (high school): Explore biological concepts of species classification, characteristics of diverse ecosystems, and animal adaptations.
- Custom Content: Let us know what topics you would like covered and we will design a tour customized to your classroom content and goals.
Simply complete the form below with preferred dates and times and the number of students and teachers who will be attending. In order to ensure we can accommodate your group on your preferred date, we recommend scheduling at least 3 weeks in advance.
The rate for field trip participants (ages 3+) is $8 plus tax. There is a $125 minimum. Two chaperones per every 25 students will be admitted for free. For the definite cost for your group, please be sure to request an invoice once you have scheduled your tour.
Note: These rates are for private, public, and homeschool students only, pre-k through 12th grade. For all other types of groups, please see Group Tours.
Your scheduled tour will last approximately one hour. Please plan to arrive 30 minutes in advance of your tour start time to allow for check-in activities and restroom breaks. You may also choose to allow time for visiting our gift shop before or after your tour.
If your group is planning to eat lunch on site, there is a picnic shelter beside our visitors center. The shelter will seat approximately 60, and additional uncovered picnic tables can accommodate 40, plus we have additional uncovered benches. The lunch area can be rented for $25/hr (plus tax) if you would like to guarantee availability for your group. If you would prefer not to rent the space, it is available on a first-come, first-serve basis. In our gift shop we offer a limited selection of snack foods such as chips, candy, and bottled drinks.
All tour participants are required to complete a release form. Minors are required to have their form signed by their legal guardian, or they will not be permitted to join the tour. Please make sure both sides of the form are completed.
As the entire tour is outside, please ensure that students are dressed appropriately for the weather. Students may also wish to bring water bottles, especially in hot weather.
All students and chaperones are expected to abide by the rules outlined on the release form. Field trips are conducted as guided tours, and all students and adults must remain with their tour guide at all times and obey his/her directives. If any participants exhibit behaviors that may endanger themselves, others, or our animals, including yelling, running, throwing rocks, or crossing the tour barrier, the individual or group will be removed from the remainder of the tour. No food or toys are permitted inside the park.
We require 72 hours’ notice of any changes or cancellations of tour time. Email fieldtrips@animalparknc.org If you do not provide 72-hour notice of cancellation or if you do not show up for your scheduled tour, your deposit is forfeited.
We are in the process of updating our offsite programs! If you have any ideas please feel free to contact us.
Sign up for a Wild Field Trip
Important Information
Know Before You Go
More info about your visit to the Animal Park at the Conservators Center.
Accessibility, Safety, and Pets
The Animal Park is not wheelchair accessible; however, accessibility accommodations are available for visitors with mobility issues. Please note that we are not able to allow unauthorized vehicles, including scooters or motorized wheelchairs, in the park. Find more information about disability accommodations and access in the Tour FAQ on our Plan Your Visit page.
If you are planning to visit the Animal Park, please take a moment to review your confirmation email and text to complete our online tour waiver. Waivers will also be available in the gift shop for visitors to complete during check-in.
For safety reasons, the Animal Park cannot allow visitors to bring pets on site. Any visitor who brings an animal to the Park will be asked to leave immediately. No animals may be left unattended in a vehicle.
