Field Trip - Zimmer Children's Museum

Field TripInformation GuideTHANK YOU for choosing the Zimmer Children’s Museum!Your students are sure to enjoy themselves as they explore the museum and discover BIG IDEAS throughhands-on play. For your students to get the most out of your trip experience, please review the informationbelow:IDENTIFICATIONIt is recommended that your group wears school, camp or color coordinated t-shirts as your group will besharing the space with other visitors. If you are participating in an enrichment experience, we appreciate ifyour students and adult chaperones wear sticker label nametags. Wearing matching color t-shirts andnametags is not only for the safety of your group, but will also greatly help museum staff to identify anddistinguish the members of your group from other museum guests.PARKINGPlease note that the Zimmer Children’s Museum is located on the lobby level of The Goldsmith JewishFederation Center, and that there is no signage on the exterior of the building to indicate our museum.If your group is arriving by bus, the bus can park temporarily directly in front of the entrance of the buildingat 6505 Wilshire to unload and load students. If space is available, buses may park on Sweetzer Avenue, aside street located west of the building for the duration of the trip.If your group is arriving by individual cars or vans, you can park in the visitor parking lot directly west of themain entrance of the building. Please inform parking security that you are here to visit the ZimmerChildren’s Museum as part of a field trip group. Additional parking is available on side streets. Whenarriving in separate vehicles, please wait outside of the building for your entire group to arrive beforeentering the building.SECURITYTo ensure the safety of all students while visiting the building, there is ‘airport-style’ security at the mainentrance. To not alarm your students, we encourage you to tell your students that walking through thesecurity check is what we do at real airports, and that they are preparing to board a real jet plane that theywill see when they enter the museum!ARRIVALOnce your group has passed through security, please walk your group into the museum (it is located on theground floor of the building. You will see it directly in front of you as you pass through security). At thispoint, if you haven’t been greeted already, one of our museum staff will be at the front desk. Your group willbe asked to gather in the loading area by the airplane, in the Mann Theater, or in our Program Room 9.While your students are entering the museum, they may be excited and distracted by what they will see inthe museum. Please help museum staff during our brief orientation.Zimmer Children’s Museum Revised: 7/23/12

FIELD TRIP OPTIONSIf you selected the Stay & Play option (available throughout the year), your field trip guide will welcomeyour group, briefly describe the Zimmer’s BIG IDEAS, exhibit activities and review museum expectationswith your adult chaperones and students. Afterwards, your students are welcome to explore the museum.If you selected to add an Enrichment Experience (available for an additional fee), your group will beguided downstairs to our Program Room 9 where the activity will begin followed by museum exploration andplaytime. If your group arrives late, or after 10:20am, your group will no longer receive the EnrichmentExperience and will not receive a refund.SCHEDULETo encourage your students to participate in the full range of exhibits and activities that we offer, and foryour ease in monitoring the safety and museum experience of your group, we offer a scheduled rotation of‘play zones’ throughout the museum. Below is a sample schedule of a visit to the museum. Your actualschedule will be e-mailed to you and available for your group on the day of your visit. If your group is largerthan 25 students, please be prepared to divide your students into two small groups upon arrival.SAMPLE AGENDATIMEGROUP 1(up to 25 students)GROUP 2(up to 25 students)9:45a WELCOME WELCOME10:00aRED ZONEMAIN LEVELDiscovery Airport,Mann Theater,Rhythms of the WorldBLUE ZONELOWER LEVELWishing WallConstruction ZoneWater TableAid & Rescue CenterRescue HarborFire DepartmentEmergency Care Center10:30aBLUE ZONELOWER LEVELWishing WallConstruction ZoneWater TableAid & Rescue CenterRescue HarborFire DepartmentEmergency Care CenterGREEN ZONELOWER LEVELMainstreet, CaféSchool Bus, MarketHome, SynagogueBubbie’s BookstoreCommunity Park11:00aGREEN ZONELOWER LEVELMainstreet, CaféSchool Bus, MarketHome, SynagogueBubbie’s BookstoreCommunity ParkRED ZONEMAIN LEVELDiscovery Airport,Mann Theater,Rhythms of the World11:30aLUNCHProgram Room 9Lower LevelLUNCHProgram Room 9Lower Level12:00p DEPARTURE DEPARTUREZimmer Children’s Museum Revised: 7/23/12

Exploration & PlaytimeWhen your group is exploring the museum, please keep in mind that the museum is open to the public andyour students will be sharing the space with other museum guests. The adult chaperones are expected toactively participate and engage the students in our museum exhibits, and there should be one adultchaperone stationed at each of the exits on the lower level -- one near the Water Ways Water table, one atthe bottom of the stairway near our Community Park, and at the end of each zone – between theEmergency Care Center and School Bus, and one between the Construction Zone and Community Park.To ensure the safety and positive experience of all field trip and museum guests,please review the following expectations with your students and adult chaperones:Zimmer Children’s Museum ExpectationsSTUDENTS WILL:• maintain “inside” noise levels.• not run or push in the museum.• be respectful of other museum guests, the museum space, and museum property.• stay out of the VIB (Very Important Baby) Lounge, unless they are under 2 years of age.• only be in the stairway with adult supervision.• hold onto the rail when going up or down the stairs.• only eat snacks in the snack room.• restore museum props at the end of the trip.ADULT CHAPERONES WILL:• assist in maintaining Zimmer Children’s Museum expectations of the students.• encourage students to share and take turns during activities.• actively engage students in exhibit activities.• monitor the safety of all children in the museum.• notify staff of broken or unsafe items or incidents that require attention.• restore museum props at the end of the trip.** IMPORTANT **If disruptive behavior of your group compromises the safety or experience of any museum guestsor the integrity of museum property, the Zimmer Children’s Museum reserves the rightto limit the participation of your students and to ask your group to leave without a refund.Zimmer Children’s Museum Revised: 7/23/12

SNACK or LUNCHIf your group is having a snack or lunch in our museum, there is a designated Snack Room on the lowerlevel of the museum directly across from Bubbie’s Bookstore. Snacks and lunches can be stored in thisroom; however, the room is open to the public. Food is not allowed on the museum floor. If necessary, anadditional room can be reserved to accommodate all your students if it is available. Reservations for snackor lunch space is required.RESTROOMSThere are two restrooms located on the lower level of the museum near our Aid and Rescue Center.Additional restrooms are located in the lobby behind the security desk to the left of the elevators. Adultsmust accompany children exiting the museum to use the restrooms in the lobby.PAYMENTThe Zimmer Children’s Museum now offers tiered pricing for the convenience of schools. Final numbersmay be adjusted up to 2 weeks prior to the scheduled visit. The Zimmer does not issue refunds for groupmembers who do not attend. Groups that exceed their reserved tier will be charged $5 per studentthereafter. Additional adults will be charged $8 general admission rate.Your school will be e-mailed an invoice prior to your field trip date. Payment is accepted in the form of acheck, cash, or credit card. Payment is due before or on the date of your trip.Please make checks payable to:Zimmer Children’s Museum, 6505 Wilshire Blvd., #100, Los Angeles, CA 90048.As field trip groups attend at a discounted rate, memberships and other promotions do not apply.CANCELLATIONCancellations must be made at least two weeks prior to your scheduled visit in order for a refund tobe issued. The Zimmer does not issue refunds for group members who do not attend and “noshows” will be charged the invoiced amount with the credit card on file.FOLLOW UPAfter your visit to the Zimmer Children’s Museum, we will e-mail you a survey requesting your feedback.Please take a moment to tell us about your experience at the Zimmer Children’s Museum to help us bestserve the needs of your group, school, and community. Our survey is also available at:http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22FD3PYGN3K.There is plenty to learn and discover at the Zimmer Children’s Museum,and we hope that you and your group have a wonderful experience playing their way to a better world!If you have any questions before your trip, please do not hesitate to contactBelinda Vong, Education Program Manager at (323) 761-8912 or belinda@zimmermuseum.org.Zimmer Children’s Museum Revised: 7/23/12