1. Select the learning experience you want your students to have at the museum. Explore the many possibilities.
2. Call the museum at (800) 820-6214 or (317) 334-4000 or register online for your field trip. Be sure to sign up for any special experiences you have selected for your students.
3. Submit your proposal to DonorsChoose.org. You will be walked through the submission process online, which will take approximately 30 minutes. (See below for proposal suggestions.) If this is your first time registering at DonorsChoose.org, you will not be allowed to submit a proposal for a field trip. DonorsChoose.org is available to help you get materials, supplies, and learning opportunities for your students, but your first proposal must be for materials that cost $800 or less, not a class trip. To learn more about why this policy exists, click here. Once you have had a fully funded materials proposal through DonorsChoose.org, you will earn enough “points” to post a proposal for a field trip to the museum. To learn more about the points system, click here.
4. If you have enough points to post a field trip proposal, when you are asked for the contact name for payment for a museum admission, please provide the following contact name and phone number: Valerie Wells, (317) 334-3317. The cost of museum admission is $4 per student (group rate) and $6.50 for each adult beyond the required adults (one free adult per 10 students). To request additional funding for transportation or other necessary resources for your field trip, click on "save and add another resource" at the bottom of the information page.
5. Check the DonorsChoose.org Website often to see if your proposal has been funded!
6. There is no guarantee that your proposal will be fully funded through DonorsChoose.org, so please plan accordingly.

Proposal Suggestions

Field trips provide experiences that cannot be duplicated in the classroom. Kids get excited about learning, and lessons in hands-on settings are remembered. We see it all the time at the museum: Students enter the museum wide-eyed, and they take in more new real-life experiences in a day than they might otherwise in a whole semester. The museum's education staff has carefully constructed exhibits and programs that help teachers meet state standards in several areas. In addition to the subject matter covered in the museum's five floors of interactive exhibits, field trips provide opportunities to develop and enhance students' socialization and citizenship skills.

Click here to find educational resources to enhance your proposal.