Shop

Summer Group Field Trips

The Nature Discovery Center offers Summer Field Trips to schools, day cares, and other summer child care programs and organizations! Looking to get the kids outside and expose them to local wildlife? Your group will enjoy a tour of our outdoor Critter Classroom and our 4 acre nature park.
Summer Trip Inquiry Form

More information

Summer Group Field Trip Program Overview

Who: Elementary and preschool aged groups
What: The Center’s friendly staff and/or volunteers lead groups through our outdoor Dean Neubek Critter Classroom where children will experience live animal interactions. We will also guide children on a nature walk through 4 acre Russ Pitman Park, where groups can see urban wildlife like birds, butterflies, and squirrels. Note that our Discovery Rooms will closed to the public and this will be an outdoor only field trip. For up close encounters with some of our ambassador animals and hands-on exposure to specimens, we recommend booking one of our Outreach Programs at your facility.
Where: Nature Discovery Center (7112 Newcastle, Bellaire, TX 77401) in Russ Pitman Park.
When: Monday through Friday.    Programs can start no earlier than 9:30 a.m  All programs must be complete by 2:30 p.m.  Programs last roughly 45 minutes depending on the interest of the group.
Cost: $5 per student.
Payment MUST be received BEFORE the date of your scheduled field trip program.
Size: Max of 30 kids split into two groups of 15 with adult chaperones.

Inquiries, Scheduling, Confirmation, and Payment

**NEW**  Submit a Summer Field Trip Inquiry Form to let us know the date(s) you are interested in and your preferred time. It also alerts our staff to any special needs your group may have or to questions you may have about our program. A member of our staff will contact you about your inquiry as soon as possible. Please allow 2 business days for a reply before calling the Center to check on the status of your inquiry.

  • Scheduling is on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • Your organization will receive an invoice for your visit based on the number of students who participate.
  • If you should need to cancel your reservation, written notice is required no later than 5 business days prior to the program start date to receive a 50% refund. Please send cancellation requests to mail@naturediscoverycenter.org and include CANCELLATION in the subject line of your email.

Clothing, Conduct, and Chaperones

• Comfortable, weather appropriate clothing, including closed toe shoes, is recommended.
• Teachers and chaperones are responsible for the behavior and discipline of their group.
• Communicate to your chaperones that they can be most helpful by modeling appropriate behavior throughout the visit and keeping the kids with the group on our trails.

Lunch Facilities

Picnic tables near the playground at the south end of the park are available on a first-come, first-served basis. There are also some first-come, first-served picnic tables in Evergreen Park, just across Evergreen Street from our park. Note: Our pavilion area behind the Center is reserved for use by our own Summer Science Camp program and is not available for summer group field trips.

Summer Field Trip Inquiry Form

FAQs

  • Where should we park our buses? School buses may unload in the North lot but should park in the Evergreen pool parking lot at 4500 Evergreen Street. Be aware that long or full size buses will need to back out of the North parking lot after unloading as there is not enough space to turn around. In addition, large buses may find it difficult to make the tight turns into and out of the South parking lot. Parallel parking on Evergreen Street adjacent to the parking lot entrance is permitted.
  • Our organization has a big group. How many can you accommodate? Large groups will need to be split into smaller groups or across multiple days. Group size limits are necessary to match the space limitations of our facilities and also benefit the quality of the field trip experience for the kids. Please inquire for more details.