Group Visit Options
Self-Directed Visits
Self-Directed Visits means that your group uses the museum with
no planned activity beyond what is available to all museum
visitors at that time.
Your group may attend the museum for a Self-Directed Visit
at any time we are open. If you simply arrive, each member
in your
group
older than 12 months pays our regular $5 admission price.
It works better for everyone if we know your group is coming!
If you pre-book 2 weeks ahead of time (paying a $30 deposit
for a
mutually-acceptable date) we will give all your group attendees
a $1 discount off the
regular museum admission price. To help maximize your visit,
the museum will not book another group at the same time.
Please note,
however, that this arrangement does not preclude another
group arriving spontaneously. We are working to get the word
out
to playgroups to
pre-book, and the discount is our motivation to you. Please
help us spread the word!
Facilitated Visit
Enhance the educational value of your visit by including a
hands-on workshop! Facilitated Visits are approximately two
hours long
with workshops running about 40 minutes in length. If there
are more
that 25 children in your group, the groups will rotate between
the workshop,
exhibit-exploration time, and possible third rotations.
Choose from one of the following Facilitated Visit Workshops
for children in K-5th grade:
Clay- Ancient, Modern, Fun!
Participants will learn about the customs and culture of the
Kumeyaay tribe of Native American Indians, who have called
San Diego home
for thousands of years. They will also learn a new pottery
technique and practice making their own take-home "olla." Fee:
$7 per child. Adults within the 1:7 ratios are free. Siblings
and additional
adults attending with the class pay $5 per person.
Animal Planet
Students interact with live common and not-so-common animals
from around the world while they learn about behaviors and
habitats. A representative from the Escondido Humane Society
leads this
memorable
and unique workshop. Fee: $7 per child. Adults within
the 1:7 ratios are free. Siblings and additional adults attending
with
the class
pay $5 per person.
Nature Scavenger Hunt
After touring our children’s garden, the students will explore
Escondido’s historic Grape Day Park as they collect interesting
objects for us to discuss. Learn to look at nature with a new
perspective, and make a craft with your treasures. Fee: $7
per child. Adults within the 1:7 ratios are free. Siblings and additional
adults attending with the class pay $5 per
person.
To Dye For
Students explore the use of color and patterns while they
make their own tie-dye shirt to take home! Shirts are included
with
your group
visit fee. This option is only appropriate for second grade
and above. Fee: $8 per child. Adults within the 1:7 ratio
are Free.
Siblings
and additional adults attending with the class are $5 per
person.
New Group Visit Offering!
Diggin' Into Rocks and Minerals
Rocks and minerals are all
around us, but when is a rock not a rock? When
it's a mineral of course! Rocks and minerals are very different things
to a
geologist (a scientist who studies them). This is a Group Visit appropriate
for all ages but is based on 4th and 5th grade curriculum standards.
In this "down-to-earth" class presented by geologist Patricia Geis,
you will learn
how to tell the difference between rocks and minerals, tell the difference
between the three basic rock types, and make a "sedimentary" rock
of your
own to take home. This class is a real gem, so come rock with us! Fee: $8
per child. Adults within the 1:7 ratio are Free. Siblings and additional
adults attending with the class are $5 per person.
* Museum Adventures at Grape Day Park
- WHAT: Museum Adventures at Grape Day Park lets schoolchildren visit three of Escondido's unique cultural resources on one fieldtrip.
- WHEN: Tours begin at 10 a.m. and end at 1:45 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays throughout the year. This time slot includes a visit to three museums, a 15-minute break in between museums and a one-hour lunch break.
- COST: $9 per student/child; 1-7 chaperone ratio admitted free; more than one adult per seven children, $5 each; one-year-old children and younger, free.
Museum Adventures at Grape Day Park is a unique program offering a day full of interactive learning and science, art and history lessons for schoolchildren in grades K-5.
This program is made possible through a collaboration between the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, the Escondido Children's Museum and the Escondido History Center.
Tours require a minimum of 15 participants and can be tailored to address state curriculum standards in visual arts, science and history. At the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, students will create art projects inspired by a tour of the museum. At the Escondido History Center they will explore an aspect of local history with a tour and accompanying activity, and at the Children's Museum participants explore a variety of sciences with exhibits in everything from recycling and astronomy to puppetry, woodworking and bubble-making.
To make a reservation or obtain more information, contact Kelly O'Neil, Museum Manager at Escondido's Children's Museum at (760) 739-9513, or koneil@escondidochildrensmuseum.org.
Facilitated Visits for Pre-School Children
Garden Senses
Museum educators will lead preschoolers on a discovery journey
through the Children's Garden (the garden has been sponsored
by the Kiwanis
Club). The workshop includes a nature walk though the garden
while we explore with our 5 senses. Fee: $7 per child. Adults
within
the 1:7 ratios are free. Siblings and additional adults attending
with
the class are $5 per person.
Special Group Visit Options
Customize a Workshop
Tell us what you need, and we will work with you to develop
a workshop that fits perfectly. Fee: $50 flat rate plus a
per child
fee based
on customized workshop. Adults within the 1:7 ratios are
free. Siblings and additional adults attending with the class
are
$5 per person.
Group Visit Policies:
Click Here for the Museum Rules