On-site Field Trips
On-Site Field Trips
Guided vs. Self-Guided Tours
How do Guided Tours work?
We are excited to pilot a new Guided Field Trip format!
Guided Field Trips are approximately one hour and use an inquiry-based approach. Your museum educator will guide the overall experience and adapt the tour to best fit your group. Larger groups will be divided into smaller groups and rotate through gallery stations. At each station it will be the job of the chaperones to help facilitate exploration using provided questions and activities.
Smaller group bookings may remain together with the museum educator for the full experience.
Your group is welcome to arrive before and/or stay after your guided tour for additional self-guided time at no charge.
How do Self-Guided Tours work?
Self-Guided Field Trips allow your group to explore the museum at your own pace without a museum educator leading the visit.
Teachers and chaperones are responsible for supervising their groups throughout the visit.
Want a little more structure? Check out our Educator Resources for activities you can use during your visit.
Arrival and Check-In
Bus parking is available directly in front of the museum.
When you arrive, please have one designated chaperone check in at the Admissions Desk with an accurate headcount of both students and chaperones.
Bins will be available for storing jackets, backpacks, and other belongings during your visit.
If you have a Guided Field Trip booked, a museum educator will be at the admission desk to greet you at the time of your tour.
Field Trip Rates
NOTE: Field trips for K–12 school groups in Park County, Wyoming are free!
This program is made possible by the generous support of the Stephen M. Seay Foundation and other generous donors. Free admission for Park County K–12 school groups is currently in effect for the 2024–2025 academic year. Private raptor programs are not included.
Expectations for Students, Teachers, and Chaperones
Expectations for Students
Students should not touch objects unless asked to do so, should walk rather than run, and should speak at an indoor level. Please feel free to let us know ahead of time about any behavioral or educational accommodations so we can ensure all your students have a great experience.
If completing worksheets, please only use pencils.
Expectations for Teachers and Chaperones
Chaperones should remain close to their group at all times; students should not be wandering the galleries on their own.
Our Guided Field Trips have stations that require teacher/chaperone participation. You can expect to oversee facilitating your groups’ experience for about half of the tour time. We ask that teachers and chaperones are actively engaged and participate during the tour, as well as manage student behavior.
Raptor Program
Our Raptor Program runs from April 1st to October 31st. You are welcome to join without notice. Check out our website for current programs and showtimes.
Photo Permissions
While visiting the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, you may be photographed or videotaped. These images may be used in future educational or public relations materials for the Center. Your admission to the Center or to Center-sponsored programs serves as permission for the image use.
Lunch Policy
Our museum does not have facilities for sack lunches. A request to reserve the classroom has to be made while booking or by contacting [email protected].
If you would like to purchase food in our cafe we must know in advance for groups over ten people. We may not be able to accommodate your request depending on the time of year of your visit.
A great alternate option for lunch is to eat on the school bus or in Cody’s City Park across the street.
Points West Market Policy
Please observe the following guidelines to help your shopping experience run smoothly:
- Have only 10 students shopping at a time with a chaperone.
- Remind your chaperones to stay with their group.
- Remind students to keep track of the amount of money they have to spend before they check out.
- Remind students that Wyoming has a 4% sales tax added to purchases.
- Items are not returnable once the tags are removed.
- Once items are purchased, the bag is not allowed back into the store.
Greever Garden Playground
Our playground is available during warmer months. Security may close when needed for weather or other circumstances.
Center of the West Hours
Accessibility
Our entire campus is ADA wheelchair accessible including marked parking spaces, ramps, and elevators. Additional details:
- Elevators are available in Rendezvous Hall (central lobby), Plains Indian Museum, Cody Firearms Museum, and Draper Natural History Museum.
- Family / unisex restrooms are located on the lower level of the Cody Firearms Museum.
An ADA-compliant Outdoor Play Area for children is located in the Cashman Greever Garden.
Manual wheelchairs and a power wheelchair are available in the front admissions area on a first-come, first-serve basis.
A variety of audio visual and tactile opportunities can be found in the galleries, including an audio tour of the Whitney Western Art Museum. - Sensory Kits are available for visitors who need help managing sensory overload in the museum. These bags include noise-cancelling headphones, fidgets, and sunglasses, and more. The Sensory Kits can be found in our main lobby.
Questions or suggestions to improve our accessibility? Please email [email protected]
Service Animals
Only trained service animals are allowed inside the Center. Service animals must be dogs or miniature horses trained to perform a task related to a person’s disability. Pets and emotional support animals are not allowed.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Any notification received right after putting in a field trip request is simply confirming that we have received the request and are tentatively reserving that time slot. Your official confirmation will come by email within 2 weeks.
Within two weeks of submission
Yes. Your entrance into the museum is good for the entire day of your visit.
Email Ruby Gray at [email protected] or call (307) 578-4079
If group size is drastically changing on a guided field trip please contact [email protected]. We do not need to be informed of minor changes; just be sure to present an accurate headcount to the admissions desk upon arrival.
If running more than 15 minutes to a guided field without notice, you may be asked to do a self-guided visit instead. To notify us about a late arrival, email Ruby Gray at [email protected] or call (307) 578-4079
There should be a minimum of 1 adult chaperone for every 10 students.
Still have questions? Contact Ruby Gray – [email protected] – 307-578-4079
Center of the West Field Trip Offerings
Getting to Know Buffalo Bill
Recommended for grades K–5
Who was Buffalo Bill? Travel through time and explore the life of William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Discover how he helped shape the story and image of the American West through his many roles as a frontiersman, entertainer, and community builder.
Journey Into Art
Recommended for grades K–5
What is art? Explore the Whitney Western Art Museum to uncover the answer—there isn’t just one! Through inquiry-based discovery, students will explore different forms and elements of art. Activities will encourage students to describe, interpret, and respond to artworks.
Animal Adaptations
Recommended for grades K–8
Animals truly are amazing! Students discover basic habitat needs of animals and explore how living things are adapted to different environments: the alpine, forest, mountain meadow, and plains/basin environments. Using inquiry skills, students will see, think, and wonder about animal adaptations.
Plains Indian Culture
Recommended for grades K–12
Our educators will explore the Plains Indian Museum—considering the past, present, and future of Plains Nations. Students will consider the impacts of Westward Expansion and witness contemporary cultural expressions of art, powwow, language revitalization, buffalo reintroduction, and other important components of Plains cultures.
The experience is adapted by the museum educator to meet the age and interests of each group.
Mountain Men
Recommended for grades 4–8
Discover who the mountain men were by stepping into the world of the Rocky Mountain fur trade! Through inquiry-based discovery, students will explore the lives of Mountain Men and investigate the tools and techniques they used to trap, trade, and survive in the Rocky Mountains. Students will consider the importance of the beaver trade while uncovering its lasting impacts on the environment.
Pre-School Offerings
For information about visiting with a preschool group, please contact [email protected] or call 307-578-4079