Field Trips:
Details & Resources

To request a Thinkery Field Trip:

• Please submit a Field Trip Request Form. Visits must be requested at least two months in advance.
• Dates are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis; it is helpful to have alternate dates in mind when submitting your request
• Thinkery will contact you to schedule your visit and collect a $25 reservation fee (non-refundable) to secure the date and time.
• Full payment is due 15 days before your scheduled visit. An invoice for the total student and complimentary adult chaperone admissions will be emailed once the reservation fee is processed.
• Monthly payment reminders are sent to the school contact. Visits are cancelled if payment is not received 15 days prior to the field trip date.
• Two weeks prior to your visit, you will receive an email with pre-visit information. You can also explore the resources section below.

Dates: Tuesday through Friday, October 2, 2019 – May 22, 2020

Times: 9:30 am, 10:30 am, 11:30 am

Capacity: 140 students per time slot

Dates are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis; it is helpful to have alternate dates in mind when submitting your request

Reservation Fee: $25 non-refundable reservation fee secures the field trip date and time.

Students: Sliding scale of $3-$7 per student. Scholarships are available for Title I campuses and must be applied for on the initial request form.

Chaperones: For a safe and comfortable experience, Thinkery Field Trips require one (1) adult chaperone for every five (5) students; chaperones within the 1:5 ratio will receive complimentary admission. Additional chaperones (more than 1:5) and siblings will pay $10 each on the day of the visit for their admission.

Chaperones must be teachers, school staff with valid district identification, parents, guardians, or other adults over the age of 18 accompanying the group.

Teachers, teaching assistants, and other school staff with valid district identification count toward the 1:5 ratio.

Thinkery Members: Current Thinkery Members may receive up to two (2) free admissions when chaperoning a field trip. Admission is limited to the adult Members named on the membership card.

Full payment must be received 15 days prior to your scheduled visit. Visits will be cancelled if payment is not received by the deadline and reservation fees will not be refunded. 

To reschedule a Field Trip cancelled for non-payment, please submit a new online request form (a new reservation fee will be required).  Reservation fees are date-specific, non-refundable and non-transferable.  The Reservation Fee will be applied to the group admission total.

Thinkery accepts payment via check or credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express).  If you have a Purchase Order, please email proof of PO. to schoolprograms@thinkeryaustin.org.  Payments can be made via phone at 512-469-6218 Monday-Friday, 9 am – 3 pm.

If you need to cancel your visit, please contact us as soon as possible at schoolprograms@thinkeryaustin.org or 512-469-6218.  All sales are final, no refunds for cancelled visits or reservation fees.  Refunds will only be given in the form of Admit One passes to Thinkery.

• Pre-Visit Information Packet
• Bus Parking & Picnic Locations
• Chaperone Planner
• Orientation Video
• Thinkery TEKS Table 2019-20
• Parent & Caregiver Permission Slip

• Scavenger Hunt: Pre-K-1st – English
• Scavenger Hunt: Pre-K-1st – Spanish
• Scavenger Hunt: 2nd-5th – English
• Scavenger Hunt: 2nd-5th – Spanish

• Thinkery Student Review

We have a max capacity of 140 students per time slot-9:30 am, 10:30 am, 11:30 am.

Thinkery Field Trips require one (1) adult chaperone for every five (5) students; chaperones within the 1:5 ratio will receive complimentary admission. Additional chaperones (more than 1:5) and siblings will pay $10 each on the day of the visit for their admission.

Chaperones must be teachers, school staff with valid district identification, parents, guardians, or other adults over the age of 18 accompanying the group.

For example, a school bringing 120 students should also bring 24 adults. These required 24 adults (which includes teachers and parents) will receive free admission. If the group brings more than 24 adults, those additional adult chaperones will pay $10 each.

You will be greeted by our staff at Group Entry, where you will check in and receive a brief orientation for students, teachers and chaperones. Groups arriving by bus should remain on the bus until they have received the orientation. The lead teacher will communicate departure time to the Thinkery staff, bus drivers, and chaperones.

During orientation the lead teacher will receive: stickers to place on each student, a handy chaperone museum planner available in English and Spanish, and complimentary badges for chaperones within the 1:5 adult to student ratio.

Remember, additional chaperones (more than the 1:5 ratio) and siblings will pay $10 each on the day of the visit for their admission

Once students are grouped with their designated chaperone and have their stickers – come on in and let the fun begin!

We recommend you and your chaperones watch our Orientation Video before your visit to familiarize yourselves with the arrival and check-in sequence.

Once your field trip has come to an end, please make your way to Group Entry. Chaperones will return their badges there. A Thinkery staff member will lead your group outside of Group Entry upon the completion of your visit. Also, please be mindful of other schools that might be entering or leaving the museum.

Thinkery receives a high volume of requests for group visits during the school year. To ensure a fair and equitable process, changes to field trip dates and time reservations are limited. If you must make changes to your reserved date and time, first contact schoolprograms@thinkeryaustin.org to cancel your existing reservation and book a new date and time. Once availability is confirmed, a new $25 reservation fee will secure the new date and time. Only one $25 reservation fee will be applied toward the final invoice.

Changes can be made to the group size up to 30 days before the invoice due date by contacting schoolprograms@thinkeryaustin.org. A new invoice will be sent with the updated amount due. Changes cannot be made after final payment has been received.

Groups arriving with fewer students than anticipated will receive Admit One passes to Thinkery (one pass for each student that is paid for, but not in attendance). Groups arriving with additional students will be charged for their tour admission.

Yes! The reservation fee applies toward the group admission total.  If a group cancels, the fee is non-refundable.

Our museum staff is available to assist you in reuniting with a missing child or adult. Please provide Thinkery staff with a detailed description of the person. In the case of a missing child, our museum protocol includes monitoring our main entrance and scanning all galleries and program spaces.

Our Field Trip guests can explore and play for to up 2.5 hours once they have checked in. We encourage groups staying for a long visit to eat lunch either before or after their visit. We do not allow re-entry for large groups once they depart the building.

Yes! We encourage your and your chaperones to explore the store during the trip to avoid long lines at the end of your visit. We also ask that you visit in your groups of 1:5.

Thinkery does not offer a space onsite for lunch. We recommend using one of the nearby parks in the Mueller Neighborhood.

• Patterson Park located off of Airport Blvd
• Bartholomew Park located off of 51st St.
• Mueller Lake Park, located directly across the street from Thinkery, is a neighborhood park overseen by the Mueller development. Inquiries should be sent to the Mueller Central office (contactus@muelleraustin.com)
• Town Center Park, at the end of Aldrich Street (towards Kerbey Lane) features an open lawn area suitable for picnics, children’s playground, sensory and rain gardens.
• Northwest Greenway, on Philomena Street near Dell Children’s Hospital, features an accessible playscape and shaded picnic area.