Field Trips

General Information On Free Field Trips:

• Reservations are made on a first come first serve basis.
• Schools without confirmed reservations will not be allowed to visit the Zoo with free admission. For pricing Click here. There are no other discounts for school groups.
• For the safety of our animals and your students, we limit the amount of free field trips per day.
• You are required to provide one adult for every five students. Special needs students may have one adult for each student.  Please ensure you have the correct amount of tickets for this ratio in your cart before checking out as anything under or over could invalidate your reservation. When child numbers are not an even amount by fives, your chaperones should round up.
• Teachers should include themselves as part of the chaperone count. Chaperones must be 21 or older and stay with their students. Please understand if you show up for your field trip short even 1 chaperone you will be required to pay full admission prices for your entire group, there are no exceptions!
• Students and chaperones are required to wear an identification tag, regardless of age. We require identification tags for security purposes, if there is a lost student, a problem student, injury, etc. The student name is not necessary, but the school’s name and teacher’s name should be visible, and the student should have a phone number to contact their group leader. The identification tags must be worn on the chest of each child and chaperone. We require either sticker name tags, pin or clip on name tags. NO lanyard name tags. Custom printed t-shirts are also okay.
• Free Field Trips are only available to grades K-12 that are either Public schools, Private schools, or Charter schools in the state of Utah. Free Field Trips are NOT available for schools outside of Utah, Preschools, Daycares, Homeschools or After School Groups/Programs. Please keep in mind any reservations made by anyone not part of a Utah Public, Private, or Charter School will be CANCELLED.
• Field Trip arrival time can be no later than 1:00 pm and no earlier than 10:00 am November 1st – February 28th, no earlier than 9:00 am March 1st – October 31st.

Students may not wear Heely shoes or bring other prohibited items. Click here for a list of prohibited items.

The Roster on the School Reservation Information Ticket Will Request the Following Information Below: 

• Your first and last name
• Your phone number(Personal or school number)
• Your email address(Either your personal or school email.)
• School Principal’s name
• School Principal’s phone number
• School Principal’s email address
• Your School’s name
• School’s full address(Street, State and Zip Code)
• School’s district(i.e. Salt Lake, Charter, Private)
• School’s title 1 status
• The estimated arrival time (No later than 1:00pm)
• The number of Special Needs students that will be attending (This is so we can add the needed extra chaperones in up to a 1:1 ratio)
• Student’s Grade level (k-12)
• Any extra chaperones, student siblings, or preschoolers you or the school may be paying for(This does not include free chaperones)
• Lunch preference (i.e. packing, purchasing, no lunch)

Please keep in mind that while you will receive a confirmation email with tickets and your paperwork, your reservation can still be CANCELLED if we find major problems (i.e. your school is banned, out of state, etc.) If you do not see a confirmation email, please check your junk/spam mail, as sometimes it filters there. If it’s not in your junk/spam folder please inform us by sending us an email at [email protected] or calling our guest services office.

When you make your reservation, your chaperone number should be set to fit the 1(Chaperone) to 5 (Student) ratio. Adults covered in this ratio will receive free admission. Please keep in mind that teachers are incorporated into this number. If the teachers want to be separate to supervise the chaperones, they will need to pay admission or they can use their membership if they have one. Extra chaperones will need to be paid for or they can use their zoo membership. If you are paying for extra chaperones, student siblings, or preschool children, please make sure to state this in your roster information. Memberships are not allowed to be used to get in extra children that are not their dependent children. If a school is caught misusing a membership, that membership holder might get their membership revoked/blocked from receiving entrance into the zoo.

Once You Have Received Confirmation:

You will know your reservation has been made when you receive a confirmation email with confirmation paperwork attached. Please open the attachment, read over all the paperwork, and print it to bring in on your date of visit. If you have issues opening the attachment please inform us. When it is time to check-in, please make sure you have printed off the first page of your confirmation statement and filled it out before turning it in to our staff.

Your confirmation statement contains your date of visit, order number, and number of students and chaperones. Verify that this information is correct and let us know as soon as possible if changes need to be made. All rules for chaperones, teachers, and students will be in the email attachment.

Day Of Reservation Guidelines:

Parking: 

On the day of your field trip, park and unload in the parking lot stated on the first page of your confirmation paperwork. *Unloading and Parking subject to change as the zoo sees fit*

Please inform the bus drivers on where they need to park and unload students!

• September – February Field Trips: Main Parking Lot (Please park and unload at the far east end of the main lot).
• March – May Field Trips: North Parking Lot. (Lot located directly across the street from the Main Parking Lot) *If snow is still present on the ground, reservations may be asked to park in the Main Lot.

Parking in the main lot March-May is not permitted without prior approval from your reservation. Students and chaperones will proceed to a staging area in the North Parking Lot and remain there until the teacher has completed all check in requirements. Once your entire group has arrived and been accounted for, an employee will inform when you will be allowed to proceed to the crosswalk and safely make your way over to the Main Entrance of the Zoo. You cannot check in until your entire party is present. Please try to carpool or have chaperones ride the bus with the students to minimize needed parking space. If you have other chaperones driving themselves, they need to check in at the same time with the school or they will be charged admission. No exceptions. Bus drivers will receive free admission to the zoo.

What to Bring:

• Name Tags: Make sure all students and chaperones are wearing tags with the school’s name, teacher’s name, and group leader’s phone number clearly printed on them before entering the Zoo. Group leader phone numbers are required in case of injury or lost child.
• Printed and Signed First Page of Confirmation Paperwork: One teacher needs to check in the school while the rest of the group remains in the staging area until the check in process is complete.

Where to Check In:

• Fall/Winter Check- in: Member & Guest Services Window.
• Spring Check in: Field Trip Teacher Check- In on the far right side of the ticket sales building at the cashier window.

Entering the Zoo

Field Trips will line up in front of the School Field Trip Gate. Groups will be granted entrance into the zoo in their 1-5 ratios (Special Needs students can follow the 1-1 ratio). Any chaperones (including teachers) remaining outside of the gate after all the students are inside will have to purchase admission or check in with a zoo membership through the general admission entrance, not the field trip admission entrance. No exceptions.

Tickets for extra Chaperones, Student Siblings, or Preschoolers:

If there are extra individuals being paid for by the school, you will need to pay for them on the day of your reservation at any ticket window. Each extra individual will need to show their admission ticket upon entering the Zoo at the general admission entrance gate (not the field trip entrance). For more information on ticket and group rate pricing please click here.

Once we have confirmed that you are aware of our policies and you have verified your 1:5 ratio (or 1:1 ratio for special needs students), you are all set to enjoy the Zoo.

Please be aware that if fewer students arrive on the day of your trip, your free chaperone admission total may be affected. Each school will only be granted 1 free chaperone for every 5 students that are present on the day of your trip. Extra chaperones may purchase tickets if they still wish to enjoy the Zoo.

Late Arrivals:

Unfortunately, any late students or chaperones that have missed their field trip check in time will need to purchase admission to enter the zoo. No exceptions will be made for late arrivals. Teachers are responsible for notifying students, chaperones, and parents of this policy.