Field Trips | The Living Desert

Thank you for your interest in booking a school field trip to The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens!

Booking is open for the 2022-2023 school year! Self-guided field trips are available Monday-Friday from October 3, 2022-May 15, 2023. School field trips must be booked at least one (1) month in advance of your preferred school field trip date.

School field trips will be blocked out on the following dates: November 21st-25th; December 19th-23rd; December 26th-30th; January 2nd-6th; and April 10th-14th.

School Field Trips At a Glance

Price per chaperone: $15
Price per student: $11

We require a 1:5 chaperone-to-student ratio and a minimum number of 10 students. Any additional chaperones outside of the 1:5 ratio pay regular admission price.

Add-on experiences like the carousel and the giraffe feeding may be purchased on location during your school field trip.

Add-On Pricing:
- Giraffe Feeding: $6 per participant; purchase at the giraffe habitat in Africa
- Carousel Ride: $3 per participant; purchase at the carousel in Gecko Gulch

School Field Trip Details

Ready to Book?
To book a self-guided school field trip, please follow these steps:

1. Have your school information ready, including:
- The name and address of your school
- Your preferred date for your field trip
- Your preferred time of arrival, between 8:30am and noon
- Lead Teacher name who will attend and oversee the Zoo field trip, their e-mail address, and cell phone number
- The number of students attending and their grade level(s)
- The number of adult chaperones attending
- Your method of arrival (bus, van, etc.) and the number of vehicles
- Your method of payment. (Approved forms of payment include check, credit card, or purchase order.)
- Whether or not you will require lunch transport and cooled storage
2. Complete and submit our School Field Trips Inquiry Form.

3. Complete and submit our School Field Trips Lead Teacher Agreement.

4. Contact our Guest Experiences Center at (760) 346-5694 ext. 0 or at guestservices@livingdesert.org to confirm your payment method or submit payment.

Note: Your booking will not be considered complete until your School Field Trips Inquiry Form and Lead Teacher Agreement have been completed and submitted, and you have contacted our Guest Experiences Center to confirm your payment method.
Once You've Booked Your School Field Trip

Prior to your School Field Trip, you'll need to...

1. Print School Field Trip Chaperone Guides for each chaperone attending. Please note that we require a 1:5 chaperone-to-student ratio. Chaperone Guides must be completed and submitted to the School Field Trips Staff on the day of your school field trip, prior to admission to the Zoo.

2. Print Parking Guides, one per vehicle.

3. Remind your students to wear either name tags or uniforms that identify them with your group on the day of your school field trip.

We recommend downloading and printing our School Field Trip Step by Step Guide for detailed planning and day-of preparations.
The Day of Your School Field Trip

While you are on your way to the Zoo...

1. Distribute and complete the Chaperone Guides during your journey to the Zoo. Chaperone Guides must be completed and submitted to the School Field Trips Staff on the day of your school field trip, prior to admission to the Zoo.

2. Distribute the Parking Guide to each vehicle driver. If there is more than one bus in your group, designate a point of contact chaperone per bus.

3. Pack and label lunches to prepare for easy transport to our cooled lunch storage. Please note that we are only able to offer lunch transportation into the Zoo. School groups will be responsible for transporting their lunches out of the Zoo.

4. Ensure that your students are wearing either name tags or uniforms that identify them with your group.

5. Please call or text the School Field Trips Staff at (760) 636-3473 when you are 10 minutes away from arriving. If you become delayed, please inform the School Field Trips Staff of your updated expected arrival time. We will do our best to accommodate late arrivals but wait times may be extended.
Upon Arrival at the Zoo For Your School Field Trip
When you arrive at The Living Desert...

1. Drivers should follow the Parking Guide to park in the designated area(s).
- If your group is arriving by bus, please have all members of your group except the Lead Teacher remain on the bus(es) after parking.
- If your group is arriving by personal vehicle, please have all members of your group gather at the bus parking island after parking.
2. The Lead Teacher will meet with the School Field Trips Staff at the bus parking island to receive the expectations and guidelines of your school field trip experience as well as any updates to Zoo operations.

3. The Lead Teacher and School Field Trips Staff will work together to:
- Distribute the School Field Trip Guidelines and Expectations
- Reconcile any updates to student or chaperone headcounts
- Reconcile any consequent refund
- Arrange lunch transportation and storage
- Distribute chaperone wristbands received from the School Field Trips Staff. Please note that only those chaperones that are included in the 1:5 chaperone-to-student ratio should receive a wristband.
4. At this time, your group can deboard the vehicles.

5. Your group will walk to the Zoo’s main entrance to meet the School Field Trips Welcome Ambassador, where you will be provided entry through the main gates.

6. The Lead Teacher can remit any consequent refund or payment to the School Field Trips Welcome Ambassador, based on headcount. Note that if the booking was completed via credit card, the card information must be provided for a refund to be issued.
Questions?

For assistance with pricing and booking, please contact our Guest Experiences Center at guestservices@livingdesert.org or (760) 346-5694 ext. 0.

For questions about your school field trip experience, please contact our Education Department at schoolfieldtrips@livingdesert.org.