Teachers and Field Trips
Planning your Trip
**An important note on COVID-19 Policies**
For you and your students' safety, we have indefinitely stopped offering classroom-based programs for onsite field trips. We also currently require guests ages 10 and up to wear face coverings when inside the building. As we continue to comply with updated guidelines from the CDC, we may need to contact you to reschedule any requested or existing field trip reservations. In the event that we must reschedule your trip, you will be contacted via email.
STEP 1: Select 1st and 2nd choice visit dates*
Allow 5 business days to process your online reservation; we cannot guarantee a reservation for dates requested within 5 business days of online form submission.
STEP 2: Meet eligibility and chaperone requirements
- Minimum of 20 students (some exceptions made for public or private schools)
- Bring the required number of chaperones:
- 1 chaperone per 5 students in Pre-K and K-2nd Grade
- 1 chaperone per 10 students in 3rd-12th Grade
A required chaperone may be a teacher, bus driver, or other school employee, but other adults can be used to fulfill the requirement if needed.
STEP 3: CHOOSE THE BEST EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR GROUP
Enjoy a self-guided tour or add an educational program (see descriptions below). Self-guided trips open to eligible groups 7 days a week; tours available Monday-Friday only.
Classroom-based programs are not available at this time.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
While self-guided tours are offered 7 days a week to groups of all ages and learning abilities, we recommend this option for groups with a wide range of grade levels, groups with more than 75 students, and groups with time constraints (e.g. visiting on the weekend or visiting for less than 2 hours). Self-guided tours are ADA accessible.
What will we do?
Explore 100+ exhibits at your own pace and enjoy interactive learning experiences such as touch tanks, feed shows, and dive shows. You can also feed turtles and stingrays by purchasing food at our feed stands (can pay with cash or debit/credit card*) and enjoy fun attractions like virtual reality rides, mechanical bull shark rides, a hurricane simulator, and arcade games.
When it's time for a snack or lunch break, visit the Coral Reef café (boxed lunches available for pre-order) or have a picnic with sack-lunches brought from home and then have playtime on the playground!
*Feed stands are open as long as supplies last. If you wish to reserve feed cups in advance, please indicate this in your online reservation form and plan to pay for the cups with the group payment (collected upon arrival). Feed cups for groups who reserve in advance are $3/cup and a maximum of 50 cups can be reserved at each feed stand (while supplies last).
THE INSIDE STORY! (7TH-12TH GRADE)
Get VIP access to see where all the marine magic happens! Explore topics in marine ecology, conservation, and aquarium science at some of the aquarium's most popular exhibits and the areas behind them. Groups will even visit the world's largest bull shark exhibit from up above and learn about food preparation in the aquarium kitchen. Approx. 30 minutes per tour.
WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?
The Inside Story is offered for students in 7th grade or older (12+ years).
Behind-the-scenes tours are offered Monday through Friday for groups with 20-75 students.* Students and their required chaperones are given priority to participate; additional chaperones and family members are not guaranteed participation. Behind the scenes tours may not be ADA-accessible; if your groups has accessibility concerns, please note them in the comments portion of your reservation form or contact our education department.
*Due to limited capacity in behind the scenes areas, tours are offered in groups of 25 or less; if your group has more than 25 participants, you will need to divide into two or three tour groups. Multiple tours cannot be given concurrently; please allot time accordingly.
We now offer scholarship-funded field trips for K-12 students! Our virtual field trip options include: (1) virtual walking tours and (2) pre-recorded Videos with accompanying activities and the option for a Zoom Q&A session!
To read more about our virtual field trip opportunities, please see our virtual field trip page.
STEP 4: SUBMIT YOUR ONLINE RESERVATION FORM*
*Allow up to 5 business days for email confirmation; receipt of email confirmation is necessary to receive field trip pricing.
STEP 5 (OPTIONAL): PRE-ORDER LUNCH FROM OUR CAFE
Make lunch easy by pre-ordering sandwiches for your entire group to pick-up from our cafe.
PRICING
| Ticket Type | Admission | Admission + Program |
|---|---|---|
| Student (3-17 yrs) | $6 plus tax | $9 plus tax |
| College Student | $10 plus tax | $13 plus tax |
| Required Chaperone* (see below) | FREE | FREE |
| Additional Chaperone* (see below) | $10 plus tax | $10 plus tax |
| Additional Child (3-17 yrs) | $6 plus tax | $6 plus tax |
*Your group will only receive free admission for the number of chaperones necessary to fulfill our required student-to-chaperone ratios.
Funding Opportunities
FISH FRIENDS SCHOLARSHIP FUND
The Fish Friends scholarship fund aims to eliminate the financial barriers to experiential learning by awarding scholarships for field trips.
OKLAHOMA ENERGY RESOURCES BOARD (OERB)
Teachers who are certified through the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB) may request an OERB-funded field trip to the aquarium.
Note: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, field trips funded by OERB have been temporarily discontinued. For more information see https://oerbhomeroom.com/.
Questions?
Contact our education department at education@okaquarium.org.
Please note that field trips cannot be booked over the phone at this time. If you have submitted a field trip request, please wait up to 5 business days for us to process your request. We cannot give date availability over the phone or via email.