Programs for Middle & High School Students

Middle or High School students participate in a biological and chemical study of natural aquatic habitats. Participants learn the importance of wetlands to humans and wildlife alike and identify their local watershed before learning to perform basic water testing procedures and aquatic animal and plant surveys.

Class size: Minimum 10 students/Maximum 40 students
Tour Times: Tuesday – Friday from 9:30 – 11:30 am,
Fee: $12 per student; $7 per additional chaperone

Concepts

  • Watersheds
  • Wetlands and their uses
  • Chemical, biological, and physical measurements
  • Bio-indicators
  • Threats to wetlands
  • pH testing and dissolved oxygen testing

Reservation Requests

Registration for fall field trips is open. Registration for the spring semester will open on Monday, October 20.

Step 1: General Information

School Address(Required)
Primary Contact Name(Required)
Email to be used as primary form of communication
Financing: To whom do we send the invoice?(Required)
Payment in full is required to confirm the field trip. Schools scheduling for school programs 31- 270 days prior to the trip date should refer to invoice for payment due date. Schools scheduling 0-30 days prior to trip date must pay upon receipt of the invoice.
Do any members of your group have special needs or disabilities for which we can offer accommodations (e.g. smaller group sizes, frequent breaks, ADA accessible trails)? If so, please give details in the space provided.
Please notate any special needs, accessibility, specific contact information, and requests for multiple trip dates here.

Step 2: Select a date

Please select one to three calendar dates in order of preference. Programs are scheduled Tuesday – Friday.
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Step 3: Student Counts

Price: $12.00
Please note: due to the specialized nature of the program, the Field Trip student maximum is 40 students per day. Student counts over 40 will require more than one field trip date.

Step 4: Chaperones and Payment

One chaperone for every 10 children is given complimentary entry. If you wish to pay for additional chaperones in advance, please see the “Additional Chaperone” area below.
Price: $7.00
Additional chaperones may pay on the day of the program.
Payment is required in advance and in full. Accepted forms of payment are organizational check, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. All checks must be made payable to the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center. A non-refundable deposit is required to secure your spot for the field trip. Once the deposit is paid, the remaining balance will be invoiced and must be paid no later than 30 days before the program date. There is a minimum student requirement for all programs. Should the student count fail to meet the minimum requirement, the reflected total pricing is subject to change to cover the minimum cost necessary to provide the educational program.

FAQ

Ensure that your Field Trip request has been pre-approved by your educational institution before scheduling.

An accurate count of attending students is required before submitting a scheduling request. Additional students can be added and paid for up to one week prior to a scheduled program date, but we cannot refund registration fees if fewer students come than were registered.

One adult for every 10 students is required to ensure safety and to help supervise your students. Additional chaperones over the requirement are charged $9 per chaperone. Additionally, due to the hands-on nature of our programs, we ask that you do not exceed a ratio of one adult for every 3 students. Example: 100 students = 33 chaperones max (10 complimentary + 23 additional)

The chaperone count includes both school staff and parent chaperones. We encourage schools to utilize complimentary spots for staff and have parents pay. Chaperone fees may be paid day-of in the Arboretum’s Nature Shop if you opt to have parents pay separately.

The program is designed for your students; please ask parents to leave younger siblings at home.

Please advise students and chaperones to dress appropriately for a nature hike and the weather. Students and adults should wear closed-toe shoes for safety. Sandals or high heels are strongly discouraged.

There are no picnic facilities at the Arboretum; however, we provide a lunch area for a full day program. Half day programs may use our building apron if available. Picnic areas can be found within Memorial Park’s picnic loop.

Bus parking is available only at our 610 Entrance. Please look for bus parking signs. Staff will be present to assist drivers.

Address: 120 West Loop North Fwy, Houston, TX 77024

Programs are conducted rain or shine. Ponchos are provided for light rain. In case of severe weather, we will offer an equivalent indoor program. If cancellation is necessary due to extreme weather conditions, rescheduling may not be possible due to our tight calendar.

Rescheduling requests are addressed at the Houston Arboretum’s availability and discretion. Rescheduling a confirmed program 0-30 days prior to your scheduled date will result in a rescheduling fee of $50.00.

Program fees are non-refundable.

Payment is required in advance and in full. Accepted forms of payment are organizational check, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover. All checks must be made payable to: Houston Arboretum & Nature Center.

Questions about policies? Please click – School Program Payment Policy (pdf).

Email [email protected]