Group and School Visits

At The Fresno Discovery Center, we make it a priority to provide activities that encourage immersion in learning, creating and interactivity. We provide STEM-based supplemental educational field trip opportunities to schoolchildren all over the Central Valley, hosting either on-site at our museum or off-site at your school location.  Our science presentations, typically 40-50 minutes long, are a great way for kids to explore science and natural history concepts while having fun at the same time. We are also committed to providing enrichment through our interactive hands-on science museum so that every moment is an opportunity to learn. 

Beginning in 2020-2021, all of our educational classes that are currently offered at The Discovery Center will be available for booking on location at your school.
We do add a surcharge and a mileage fee for travel to and from your school:

• On Your Location Service Fee of $125.00

• Mileage Fee is $.99 per mile.

View the classes we offer and click on the link to book your next school visit today! Our staff will respond to your request within 24 hours. 

• Our science presentations are a great way for your kids to explore science and natural history concepts while having fun at the same time! Presentations are typically 40-50 minutes long.

• Scheduling a date for presentations is required.

• Minimum of 20 children is required for the group rate price.

• If you have less than 20 students, please scroll down to view that price range. 

• We do not charge adults for presentations.

• Class & Science Center Visit, our most popular package! This includes a science center visit and a science presentation together at a discounted price! 

• We do request that with all group visits, children are supervised by adults at all times.

• We are a science center and request that visitors keep that in mind during your visits for the safety of the children and all of our Discovery Center guests as well, as we are open to the public during school visits. 

• We do require a 10/1 ratio of children/chaperones for each school group visit. 

MUSEUM VISIT GROUP PRICE: $5 per visitor

Minimum of 20 individuals is required for the group price.

This package allows your group to explore our hands-on museum at a discounted price!

Scheduling a date for a discount is required.

Please use our online form to book your group visit. 

SCIENCE CLASS RATES*

Minimum of 20 students is required for the discount. 

• $10 per child (Class Only)

  • Animal Mania (Pre-6th grades)

  • Dino-mite (2nd-6th grades)

  • Rock of Ages (3rd-6th grades)

  • To Infinity and Beyond (2nd-6th grades)

• $12 per child (Class Only)

  • Weird Science (2nd-6th grades)

  • Rim of Fire (2nd-6th grades)

• $15 per child: (Class Only)

  • Frank's Lab (2nd-6th grades)

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• Enhance the experience by adding a science center visit!

  • $3 per student

• $5 Science Center Visit for Adults

  • Adults are free for presentations.

Class Prices for School Groups Less Than 20 Students

• $25 per child (Class Only)

  • Animal Mania

  • Dino-mite

  • Rock of Ages

  • To Infinity and Beyond

• $28 per child (Class Only)

  • Weird Science

  • Rim of Fire

• $30 per child: (Class Only)

  • Frank's Lab

• Enhance the experience by adding a science center visit!

  • $5 per student

• $5 Science Center Visit for Adults

  • Adults are free for presentations.

Class Summaries (In order of popularity)

Weird Science (2nd – 6th)

Learn the fun and excitement of chemistry in this cool class! It’s all about rapid chemical reactions and the states of matter! Solids, liquids, and gases have one thing in common - matter!    We’ll mix up some science with different things such as dry ice, glue, baking soda, and vinegar. We will make chain molecules of flubber that students can take home, and also do acid-based reactions to blow up balloons.  Uncover the reality of how matter changes from state to state!

Animal Mania  (Pre – 6th)
You may select one or all of the following animal groups; Keep in mind that the more groups selected, the more general the lesson due to time constraints.  These classes can also be tailored to whichever animal group your class is currently working on.  For example, classes focusing on habitats such as the ocean, rainforests, or grasslands, on animal groups such as reptiles, bats, spiders, or on food webs and animal populations. 

Vertebrates

• Mammals: Can you tell what different mammals “do for a living” just by looking at their skeleton, skulls, and teeth?  Know exactly what to look for in our class dedicated to mammals.  The class includes a wide variety of skins, skulls, and other biofacts.

• Reptiles and Amphibians: Do you know the differences between reptiles and amphibians?  It’s easy to spot the differences once you’ve been to our class!  Includes several live animals as part of the presentation.

• Birds: Do you know how much we can learn, just by looking at a bird’s beak and feet?  What can a bird’s wingspan tell us?  Come to unlock the secrets of your favorite sky voyagers.  The class includes live animals as part of the presentation.

Invertebrates

• General Invertebrates: From Sponges and up; learn about the many animals that do not have a backbone in this class.  Real specimens of each group are a part of this class as well as several live animals, including crayfish, insects spiders, and worms.

• Insects and Spiders: Explore the world of invertebrates as we take a closer look at insects and arachnids in this “hands-on” class.  We will discover what it means to be an invertebrate and learn the differences between our six and eight-legged friends.  Children will get a chance to meet some live critters.  This interactive class is a great way to get kids excited about “bugs!

Dino-Mite (2nd – 6th)

Join us as we use fossils and models to go back in time when pre-historic creatures ruled the Earth!  Learn about these amazing animals and how they differ from the reptiles alive today.  We’ll talk about hatching from an egg, digesting food and much, much more! Students will even get a chance to dig up some cow bones like a real paleontologist would do and run the length of some of the longest dinosaurs in a dinosaur race! 

Frankenstein’s Lab (2nd – 6th) 

Students will get charge up about science in this hair-raising class.  First, we explore the properties of magnets through hands-on group experimentation; we defy the law of gravity using magnetic properties!  We then come full circle while learning about electricity, and positive and negative charges.  We utilize our Van Der Graff generator as we discover static electricity.  We finish with a little bit of chemistry by discussing non-Newtonian fluids like Oobleck, a concoction made of cornstarch and water. Students will be shocked at how much they learn while having fun! 

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Rock of Ages (3rd – 6th)

This class covers how rocks and minerals are formed and the differences between them.  Students will learn about sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks, volcanoes, weathering, fossilization, the hardness scale, and more through our hands-on class.  With many beautiful samples of rocks and minerals to reference and discuss! 

Rim of Fire (2nd-6th)

Learn what makes the earth shake, rattle and roll as we discover the dynamics of earthquakes, volcanoes and plate tectonics in this exciting class! We'll even set off our own model volcanoes to see the difference between explosive volcanoes and those that ooze!

 
To Infinity and Beyond (2nd – 6th)

In this fun and exciting class, students will learn about the movement of air around objects, the difference between lift and thrust, and how some objects can fly.