Field Trips and Tours - Buffalo Bill Center of the West

Guided and Self-Guided Field Trips

Please Note: The Center is currently only scheduling self-guided (teacher led) field trips. With health and safety precautions in mind, we have temporarily suspended our onsite guided tours. However, we can schedule you and your students for a virtual guided tour based on any of our onsite guided tours. We also offer a variety of other digital resources that we hope will enrich your classroom needs. We will update this page should this change. Links are provided below:

Schedule a Self-Guided Field Trip to the Center
Learn More About a Specialized Virtual Guided Tour
Register for a Skype in the Classroom Virtual Field Trip
Access Online Resources
MILES Grants for Admission, Lodging, and Transportation Assistance
BRAND NEW! Clue for Your Classrooms – resources, activities, and digital curriculum

Contact: Megan Smith at [email protected] or at 307-578-4028 for more information.

Museum Hours

May 1 – September 15	Open Daily	8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
September 16 – October 31	Open Daily	8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
November 1 – 30	Daily	10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
December 1 – February 28	Thursday – Sunday	10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
March 1 – April 30	Open Daily	10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

School Group Prices*

Self-guided teacher-led tours	$2 per student
Docent/educator guided tours	$3.50 per student
Docent/educator guided tours with activity	$5 per student
Teachers	Free
Chaperones (1 chaperone per 4 students)	Free
Chaperones (more than 1 per 4 students)	$14 per chaperone
Outreach trunks	Cost of shipping both ways

*For the 2019 – 2020 school year, field trips for school groups organized by Park County, Wyoming, schools (K – 12) are free!

This program is made possible by the generous support of the Stephen M. Seay Foundation and other generous donors. The free admission for these school-sponsored groups is currently in effect for the 2019 – 2020 academic year, and includes all K – 12 classes in the county. Please note raptor programs are not included.

Attention All Teachers — MILES Scholarships!

We now offer scholarships to schools throughout the region that cover the cost of admission for school field trips to the Center. Thank you to Sinclair Oil for making these funds available. E-mail the School Services office or call 307-578-4028 to learn more, or fill out the the scholarship application to apply.

General Information

All school groups, including self-guided (teacher led) or guided, MUST register before coming to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
Register for all visits to the museum at least three weeks in advance.
All visits must be scheduled on weekdays during regular museum hours.
School groups are required to have a minimum of 1 adult chaperone per 10 students. It is the responsibility of the chaperone(s) to supervise the students at all times.
Please make sure that the group size visiting the Museum Store at any one time does not exceed 10 individuals per group. A chaperone or teacher must be with groups when they are visiting the store.

Online Registration

Please fill out the information requested on the forms at the links below to register.
A message confirming your submission will appear on your screen.
Your visit is not confirmed until you receive an e-mail within 1 week with a confirmation number.
Upon arrival, please check in at admissions with the name of your group, the number of students and chaperones, and your purchase order/payment ready.
Please let us know if you have any problems with our online registration system by e-mailing Megan Smith or calling her at 307-578-4028.

Guided tour options and registration information are listed below. Questions? Please e-mail Megan Smith or call her at 307-578-4028.

SURVEY: After visiting the Center, we invite you to return here to evaluate it in a short survey:

Guided Tour Field Trip Evaluation

Self-guided Field Trip Evaluation

Standards Correlations

All of our guided tours meet Wyoming and Montana state standards. Please click on the link below to view our standards correlation chart.

Wyoming and Montana State Standards Correlation Chart

Self-Guided Field Trip Opportunities

Click here to register for self-guided/teacher-led tours

Scavenger Hunts available!

Please print scavenger hunts for your students prior to your field trip visit.

Click on the photo below to download our scavenger hunts. This document contains scavenger hunts for all museums, except the Cody Firearms Museum.

Borrow a Backpack!!

Consider checking out one of our backpacks while at the Center! This new resource will enhance your self-guided field trip experience through hands-on learning. Call 307-578-4028 today to reserve a backpack and other materials for your field trip.

Guided Tour Field Trip Opportunities

Click here to register for a guided tour field trip

Guided Western History Tours

Getting to Know Buffalo Bill (Grades K – 5)

William F. Cody embodied the adventurous spirit of the American West. Explore the life and times of the scout buffalo hunter, town-builder, entertainer, and family man known as Buffalo Bill.

Fact or Fiction (Grades 2 – 5)

Students will apply critical thinking skills to debunk myths of the West using artifacts, letters, photographs, and other primary resources.

Homesteading in Wyoming (Grades 3 – 8)

Discover the challenges that homesteaders faced as they settled the Big Horn Basin between the late 1800s and the mid-1900s. Tour includes an interactive “claim your land” activity.
Teacher Guide for the Homesteading in Wyoming Guided Tour

Trappers, Traders, and Trailblazers (Grades 4 – 8)

Explore the adventurous culture of the West during the time of the trappers, traders, and trailblazers. Discover the tools and techniques that mountain men used to survive in the wilderness, and see how they influenced the American West.
Teacher Guide for the Trappers, Traders, and Trailblazers Guided Tour

Teacher Guides for Western History Tours

The following guides are available for teachers to print. Each guide contains objectives, standards, pre- and post-visit activities, and a resource list. Click on the images below for each tour to view its teacher guide.

Guided Art Tours

Journey into Art (Grades K – 3)

Discover and explore the artistic elements of line, shape, and color throughout the Whitney Western Art Museum.

The Artist’s Story (Grades 4 – 8)

Discover the world of art through the eyes of the artists. This hands-on tour explores traditional and contemporary art. Students will learn how the stories of western American artists influenced their work.

Do You See Me Like I See Me? Cultural Perspectives in Western American Art (Grades 6-12)

Students will explore how culture, individuality, technique, and place in history influence artists. Tour includes historic European views of Native life, as well contemporary American Indian perspectives.
Teacher Guide for the Do You See Me Like I See Me? Guided Tour

Customized Art Tours (Grades 4 – 12)

Please call 307-578-4028 for information about a customized tour for your group.

Teacher Guides for Art Tours

The following guide is available for teachers to print. This guide contains objectives, standards, pre- and post-visit activities, and a resource list. Click on the image below to view this teacher guide.

Guided Cultural History Tours

Plains Indian Tipi Activity Tours (Grades Pre-K – 2)

Tipi Activity Tour: $5 per student
Parfleche Activity: $5 per student

Explore the dwellings of some Plains Indian people. Students make miniature tipis or parfleches using their own designs. Maximum of 25 students per visit. Must register 3 weeks in advance. Available during the month of November only.
Teacher Guide for the Plains Indian Tipi Guided Tour and Activity

Plains Indian Parfleche Activity

Plains Indian Culture: Yesterday and Today (Grades 3 – 12)

Discover how Plains Indians enrich their lifestyles today by incorporating contemporary aspects of culture while continuing to draw upon past traditions.
Teacher Guide for the Plains Indian Culture: Yesterday and Today Guided Tour

Teacher Guides for Cultural History Tours

Natural History Tours

Animal Adaptations (Grades Pre-K – 8)

Discover the basic habitat needs of animals, and explore how plants and animals adapt to changing seasons and environments. “Dress-A-Beaver” activity included in Pre-K – 4 programs.
Teacher Guide for the Animal Adaptations Guided Tour

Keystone Species (Grades 8 – 12)

Investigate the keystone plants and animals of Yellowstone and the vital role they play in the region’s ecosystem. Students consider the food web in the absence of these species.

Wyoming Geology Rocks! (Grades 1 – 4)

Students study the geologic processes that have shaped this region, and explore how these processes influence the diversity of plants and animals found here.

Fire, Water, and Ice (Grades 4 – 12)

Explore how water, fire, heat, and ice have shaped the landscape around us. From pikas to prairie dogs and lodgepoles to landslides, these natural factors determine what we see and where animals live.