Field Trips are scheduled from 10:00 a.m. until noon. Transportation grants are available to assist with the cost of buses. Students are free. There is a $6.00 admission fee for each adult.

Students visit the Museum twice during the school year. First, students visit for a docent-led comprehensive field trip tour. Students are guided through all four wings of the Museum, i.e., Natural History, Archaeology, Anthropology and Art. Students also have workbooks that they use to reinforce their learning. Students may then come back at a later date for a second focus field trip, which concentrates on one specific wing of the Museum, based on grade curriculum. Please call the Museum to make reservations for both field trips: 619-670-5194.

Third Grade: On their first visit to the Museum, third grade students are given a comprehensive docent-led tour of all four wings of the Museum: Natural History, Archaeology, Anthropology, and Art. As part of the tour, they participate in a “Treasure Hunt,” filling out special workbooks that they can take back to class then home.

During a later visit to the Museum for a focus field trip, students visit only the Archaeology Wing. Working in a more advanced Archaeology Workbook, students identify specific artifacts and answer questions working in groups. The students also go to the Museum Conference Room for a discussion on a day in the life of a Kumeyaay boy and a close up investigation of Kumeyaay artifacts. Students then go to the Daniel R. Ciccati Tropical Garden Patio and learn how to make fire as the Kumeyaay did in pre-Columbian times.

Fourth Grade: Fourth grade students have the best experience by visiting the Museum twice during the school year. The first comprehensive field trip includes a docent-led tour of all four wings of the Museum: Natural History, Archaeology, Anthropology, and Art. While in each wing, students create their own “Docent Handbooks” to be used when they bring their families back for a tour of the Museum that they give.

Students return for a special focus field trip in the Natural History Wing. Half of their time is spent in the Natural History Wing working in special advanced Natural History Workbooks. After identifying a variety of fossils and specimens, students work in groups to answer questions in the book. The remainder of the time is spent in the Conference Room where docents introduce and talk about various fossils and specimens.

Fifth Grade: Fifth grade students would get the greatest benefit by visiting the Museum twice during the school year. The first visit would include a docent-led tour of all four wings: Natural History, Archaeology, Anthropology, and Art. While in each wing, students create their own “Docent Handbook” to be used when they bring their families back for a tour of the Museum that they give.

The second visit would be for a focus field trip in the Anthropology Wing. Special workbooks focus on early United States history. After identifying a variety of artifacts, students then work in groups to answer questions in the workbook. Students would then go into the Museum Conference Room for an in-depth discussion of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and a close up examination of artifacts from the period of the Corps of Discovery.

Sixth Grade: Sixth grade students would get the greatest benefit by visiting the Museum twice during the school year. The first visit includes a docent-led tour of all four wings: Natural History, Archaeology, Anthropology, and Art. While in each wing, students create their own “Docent Handbook” to be used when they bring their families back for a tour of the Museum that they give.

To coordinate with the sixth grade science curriculum, students come back for a focus field trip in the Natural History Wing. First, students spend time in the Natural History Wing with special workbooks. After identifying fossils and specimens pictured in the workbooks, students work in groups answering related questions. Students are then taken into the Museum Conference Room for a special presentation and close-up view of gems, minerals and fossils. Students then may spend time at the Museum Store, which is particularly rich with items from Natural History.

More curriculum and educational programs are currently being developed…