SCHOOL TOURS
Before Your Tour: Educators
School Educators: If you would like to visit the museum prior to the school tour so that you know what to expect, there is an “Educator Pass” available for download (contact us for more information). When you arrive at the museum present the pass and your school identification to the front desk. Note: Cross Orchards has free admission, so you do not need a museum pass to visit.
Please fill out the evaluation form below after your tour and email it to our Educator at cwestermire@mowc.co. This form will help us improve our guided and self-guided tours.
Prices and Hours
Prices
Please note reservations are required for all school groups visiting the Museum. Reservations cannot be made less than 2 weeks in advance.
Read through all information on this page and then submit a form at the link below to begin making plans.
Due to rising costs, we are having to raise our prices for all school tours. For all sites, payments must be made online prior to your visit.
Museum of The West/Cross Orchards
- $4.00 per student for self-guided tours
- $6.00 per student for guided tours
Dinosaur Journey
- $6.00 per student for self-guided tours
- $8.00 per student for guided tours
Groups must be accompanied by teachers and chaperones throughout the museum for the safety of the students and the museum collections. Due to the size of Museum of the West and Dinosaur Journey, the maximum group size for school tours, guided and self-guided, is 35. The maximum amount of students at Cross Orchards for guided tours is 40. Because it is an outdoor museum, there is not a designated cap on the group size.
Hours
We are open to school groups year-round at all three sites! Please note the days and times available below:
Museum of the West:
- Tuesday-Friday 10am – 3pm
Dinosaur Journey:
- Monday-Friday 10am-3pm
Cross Orchards:
May – October
- Tuesday-Friday 9 am-3 pm
November- April
- Monday-Friday 10 am-3 pm
School Tour Basics (AKA What to Expect)
Bus Pickup/Drop-Off Locations
Museum of the West:
- For unloading/loading: Please use the de-acceleration lane that is located on Ute Avenue.
- Once children and adults have been dropped off at the museum, buses may park in the parking lot in front of the back entrance of the Whitman building.
Dinosaur Journey
- For unloading/loading: Please pull up in front of the entrance to drop students and adults.
- Once children and adults have been dropped off at the museum, buses may park in the back parking spaces facing Taco Bell.
Cross Orchards
- For unloading/loading: Please pull up to the front of Cross Orchards’ office building to drop off students and adults.
- Once children and adults have been dropped off at the museum, buses may park in the designated spaces.
Be on Time!
Please arrive on time for your scheduled tour! Arriving on time helps make the experience run smoothly.
Check In!
Once you have arrived at the museum, please check in with the front desk and give them the number of students and chaperones that will be on the tour. If you have added more students or chaperones you may have to pay an additional charge.
We require one chaperone for every ten students (K-12 only).
One free adult admission per every ten students (K-12).
Additional chaperones are charged the group admission rate.
Above grade 12, we include one free instructor admission.
Stay With Your Docent!
At the beginning of the tour, the docent will give a brief orientation of what the expectations are of students and chaperones during the tour.
Follow the Rules!
Creating a successful learning environment for all students and visitors is important to the Museums of Western Colorado. To provide the best experience for everyone, we have listed our expectations below. The docent will have a group orientation prior to the tour. We expect all rules to be remembered and followed.
- Teachers and chaperones must always stay with their groups!
- Please walk in the museum. NO RUNNING
- As the museum is open to the public, please be respectful to others around you. No screaming or loud voices.
- Respect others in your group as well as staff.
- We do have some “hands-on” exhibits, but many are not. During the tour the docents will inform the students which exhibits are okay to touch. Otherwise please make sure they are respectful when observing the items.
- No food, drink, candy, or gum in the galleries. Front office staff will direct you on where to place backpacks and water bottles. Please note we do encourage students and chaperones to bring water when visiting Cross Orchards.
- Photography is permitted in some galleries. Please ask the front office staff for details.