Enhance your school's field trip to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo with a classroom session (located in the Zoo's Visitor’s Center) or on a guided "trek" through the Zoo. These engaging, inquiry-based, discussion-oriented lessons are designed to correspond to with Common Core standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and Virginia Standards of Learning. There is no contact with live animals in these programs.
All programs are based on availability. Submitting a registration form does not guarantee a particular date you will be contacted by FONZ's education office once your registration form is received. Only one program can be accommodated at a time, so if you are planning to come with more students than the program capacity, you will need to schedule back-to-back programs. The fees are per program, not per school. If you will be arriving on a bus, please review the bus reservation information in the FAQs below. Bus reservations are only available Mon-Weds.
Title 1 schools may be eligible for a registration fee waiver. Email us at fonz_programs@si.edu to learn about program eligibility. Thank you to GEICO for their generous support of this program!
The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Center's Migratory Bird Center along with Friends of the National Zoo, and the US Forest Service are excited to announce a new program, "The Ecology of Urban Songbirds."
This program is intended to teach students grades 6 through 9 how humans shape wildlife habitat and impact bird populations in Washington, D.C. The program incorporates a 3-hour field trip to the Smithsonian's National Zoo (9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., not including travel time) wherein students will learn core scientific principles while exploring the habitats students experience in their daily lives. All lessons align with the Next Generation Science Standards. The field trip will include: a banding demonstration with wild birds; a scavenger hunt for habitat features that impact wildlife; a model-building exercise; and the development of a conservation action plan to improve bird habitat. For more information or to schedule a field trip, please contact Fonz_Programs@si.edu
The Ecology of Urban Songbirds is a guided zoo walk. Portions of this program are outside, so please dress for the weather.
Grades: 6 - 8
Number of Students: 30 student maximum with at least 5 chaperones
Program Length: 3 hours
Cost Per Program: Thanks to support of the Smithsonian Institution's Youth Access Grant program, the fee has been waived. (Title I cost: Thanks to support of the Smithsonian Institution's Youth Access Grant program, the fee has been waived.)
Wildlife Trafficking
After habitat loss, wildlife trafficking (illegally moving animals or products made from animals from one place to another) is the greatest threat to numerous species around the world. During this program, students will learn about some of the animals whose populations are jeopardized by wildlife trafficking, how the Smithsonian's National Zoo is working to conserve these animals, and what they, as students, can do to make a difference.
Wildlife Trafficking is a guided zoo walk. Portions of this program are outside, so please dress for the weather.
Grades: 6 - 8
Number of Students: 20 student maximum with at least 3 chaperones
Program Length: 75 minutes
Cost Per Program: $180 (Title I cost: $100)
Animalisms
Have you ever heard the phrase "an elephant never forgets" or "touching a toad will give you warts?" During this program, as students travel throughout the Smithsonian's National Zoo, they will become "mythbusters" as we examine a number of different "animalisms" to discover which are true and which are false. Along the way, students will think like scientists as they make observations, analyze data, and form conclusions, all while having fun, too!
Animalisms is a guided zoo walk. Portions of this program are outside, so please dress for the weather!
Grades: 2 - 5
Number of Students: 20 student maximum with at least 4 chaperones
Program Length: 75 minutes
Cost Per Program: $180 (Title I cost: $100)
Junior Zoologist
Step into a day in the life of a zoologist! What kind of work does the staff do to learn about animals in the wild and to care for them here at the Smithsonian's National Zoo? This inquiry-based program will present your students with an animal mystery that will require using the steps of the scientific method to solve! Students will have the opportunity to observe and touch animal biofacts or replicas (which may include items like skulls, bones, feathers, claws, horns, etc.).
Junior Zoologist is a classroom program located in one of the Zoo's classrooms.
Grades: 2 - 5
Number of Students: 25 student maximum with 1 chaperone for every 5 students
Program Length: 60 minutes
Cost Per Program: $180 for up to 25 students (Title I cost: $100 for up to 25 students)
World Safari
The Smithsonian's National Zoo features animals from around the world. What kinds of habitats can be found on each of the seven continents? What kinds of adaptations allow animals to survive in these various habitats? Why are many of these animals endangered, and what can we do to help?
World Safari is a guided zoo walk. Portions of this program are outside, so please dress for the weather!
Grades: K - 5
Number of Students: 20 student maximum with at least 4 chaperones
Program Length: 75 minutes
Cost Per Program: $180 (Title I cost: $100)
A Habitat is a Home
Animals can be found in all kinds of habitats: deep in the ocean, high in the mountains, in the dry desert, in marshy wetlands, in humid rainforests…. and many more! Wherever animals live, they must have adaptations that help them survive in the type of habitat they call home. What are some of the habitats we can observe at the Smithsonian's National Zoo? What can an animal’s home at the Zoo tell us about habitats in the wild?
A Habitat is a Home is a guided zoo walk. Portions of this program are outside, so please dress for the weather!
Grades: Pre-K - 1
Number of Students: 20 student maximum with at least 4 chaperones
Program Length: 60 minutes
Cost Per Program: $120 (Title I cost: $90)
Story Safari
This program is designed for our youngest visitors! Children will hear either a fiction or non-fiction read aloud, learn a few facts, see animal biofacts such as pelts and skulls (if applicable/available), then finish the program with a walk to see the animal featured in the book!
Story Safari is a guided zoo walk. Portions of this program are outside, so please dress for the weather!
Grades: Pre-K
Number of Students: 20 student maximum with at least 5 chaperones
Program Length: 45 minutes
Cost Per Program: $60 (Title I cost: $35)
Payment, Cancellation, and Transfer Policy
Payment in full must be received 2 weeks prior to the program(s) date. This payment is non-refundable and may be made over the phone via credit card or a check made out to Friends of the National Zoo.
Cancellation Policy: Cancellations received more than 2 weeks prior to the program(s) date will be honored and accrue no fees. If your school has already submitted payment, it will be refunded in full. Cancellations received fewer than 2 weeks prior to the program(s) date will forfeit their payment in full. If you fail to show up to your program(s), you will receive no refund. If the school is participating with a fee waiver and cancels within 48 hours of the program or fails to show, they will be ineligible to apply for a future waiver.
Transfer Policy: All transfer requests must be received more than 2 weeks prior to the program(s) date and will be based on availability.
Inclement Weather Policy: School programs at the Zoo run rain or shine. If the Zoo is closed, or if your school is closed due to inclement weather, we will reschedule your group (based on availability) at no cost. If we are unable to reschedule, you will be issued a full refund.
Advance reservation is required for your bus. To make a reservation, please submit this form or call 202-633-4960 or 202-633-4964. School bus reservations can be made Monday through Wednesday and are on a first-come, first-served basis, so please make a reservation as soon as you have booked your field trip! Groups coming on Thursday or Friday can be dropped off and picked up in the bus lot, but buses will not be able to park on Zoo grounds during your program. All buses drop off in the designated bus lot, which is located next to Parking Lot B and the Panda Plaza.
Unfortunately, there are no lockers for lunch storage.
There are numerous picnic areas throughout the Zoo – the Panda Plaza, the Panda Overlook, the Great Meadow and the Picnic Pavilion (located next to the Mane Restaurant).
For Jr. Zoologist program, chaperones should meet in the Visitor Center lobby, the closest parking lot is Lot A. Parking is a flat fee of $25 per car.
For the World Safari program, chaperones should meet at the Information Booth next to the bus lot (across from the American Bison exhibit and in between Panda Plaza and the restrooms). The closest parking lot is Lot B. Parking is a flat fee of $25 per car.
Our programs run rain or shine! We do have a number of indoor exhibits, where we will try to spend the majority of our time, but expect to walk outside in between exhibits, so please dress for the weather!
If the Zoo or your school is closed due to inclement weather, however, we will work with you to reschedule at no cost.
Please let us know if you have any special requests. Due to timing restrictions and the layout of the Zoo, we likely will not be able to deviate from the planned program, but feel free to ask and we will accommodate you if at all possible.
As we often schedule multiple programs per day, we may not be able to extend your program. We will work with you as best as we can within the available time frame to make sure your students have the best possible experience at the Zoo!
