With a little planning, your visit to the Natural History Museum will be one to remember. Below are some suggestions for making your visit a valuable learning experience for your students, as well as an entertaining one. Teachers may find suggestions in What You Can Do, What You Can Ask, What You Can See, and Activity Suggestions as helpful tools and hints for a fun-filled and instructive museum visit.

Prepare students for being in a museum.
Studies have shown that students can learn more on field trips when they are not distracted by the novelty or “newness” of the location. Showing students a brochure or pictures from the Natural History Museum Website will give them an idea of what they may see before they get to the museum. Discuss bathroom breaks and lunch plans before the trip so these questions don’t distract students from exploring the exhibits.

Plan, plan, plan
Providing students with background information before their museum visit can help to make it a more valuable learning experience. You may choose to use the activities in this guide, or create some classroom connections of your own. Then, when you bring your class to the museum, you will have specific topics and concepts to focus on.

Encourage interaction, not passive listening.
As you explore the exhibits, encourage students to tell you about what they see, rather than ask them to simply listen. Your guidance and open ended questions will help keep students focused, while still encouraging independent exploration.

And don’t forget…
- Make your reservation well in advance.
- Bring the required number of adults (1 for every 10 children).
- Review proper conduct with your students before the visit.
- Instruct students to follow directions of museum staff.
- For their own safety, make sure students are always with an adult.
- Allow time for restroom visits.
- Inform chaperones of the day’s schedule and their responsibility to stay with the children at all times.