Austin Nature & Science Center School Programs

The Austin Nature & Science Center offers nature and science-based educational programs for a variety of school groups, including public, private, preschool, and homeschool.

Quick links

• Instructor-Led Field Trips
• Homeschool Programs
• Self-Guided Tours
• Planning Your Trip

2024-2025 School Year

Registration will begin on September 4, 2024, at 10:00 am for the 2024-2025 school year.

Program Overview

Registration link can be found in the Registration Directions drop-down.

• Created for Pre-Kindergarten to 5th Grade Students
• Located at Austin Nature and Science Center (ANSC) or At Your School
• Program Length
  • PreK thru 1st Grade: 1-hour program
  • 2nd Grade thru 5th Grade: 1.5-hour program
• Reservation Times
  • 10:00 am - 11:30 am
  • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
  • 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
  • 12:00 pm -  1:30 pm
• All programs have three indoor and/or outdoor stations
• Correlate to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) Standards
• 2024-2025 program descriptions, TEKS, and vocabulary
• Programs are offered October 15, 2024 - April 25, 2025
  • October 15, 2024 - February 14, 2025
    • Animal Communities
    • Astronomy (only offered at ANSC)
    • Bats
  • January 24, 2024 - April 25, 2025
    • Animal Communities
    • Habitat Hunt (only offered at ANSC)
    • Insects
    • Pond Study

Registration: Overview

• Program Length
  • PreK thru 1st Grade: 1-hour program
  • 2nd Grade thru 5th Grade: 1.5-hour program
• Reservation Times
  • 10:00 am - 11:30 am
  • 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
  • 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
  • 12:00 pm -  1:30 pm
• Administration staff will contact you within 72 hours of your request. After you have received a confirmation email from anscprograms@austinteas.gov and an invoice, the school programs coordinator will email you with the specific program theme and group rotation times. Due to the volume and particular requests, processing time for the day of the program details may take several weeks. Thank you in advance for your patience. 
• Refer to the decision tree below to determine your reservation time for the number of students attending.

Registration:  Directions

Registration will begin on September 4, 2024 at 10:00 am for the 2024-2025 school year.

1. Check the availability of your preferred dates and times in RecTrac.
2. Fill out the Instructor-Led Programs Registration Form. It may help to have the following information handy:

• Two preferred dates and times that show as available on RecTrac
• The first and second program theme you're requesting
• Grade Level of students
• Number of students, classes, and teachers attending
• Number of chaperones (maximum of five chaperones per group of 25 students are allowed inside our classrooms)
• Your plans for eating lunch or snacks on site, if applicable. We are a pack-in and pack-out facility on a nature preserve. If you have plans to eat at ANSC, you must take your trash and recycling back to your campus for disposal.

3. Administrative staff will contact you within 72 hours of your request to complete your reservation.
4. After you receive a confirmation email from anscprograms@austintexas.gov and an invoice, the school programs coordinator will email you with the specific program theme and group rotation times. Due to the volume and particular requests, processing time for the day of the program details may take several weeks. Thank you in advance for your patience. 

Payment, Fees, and Cancellations

Payment:

After you’ve received a confirmation email from  anscprograms@austintexas.gov and an invoice that you or your school or district can pay by:

• Credit Card by phone before your trip, call 512-974-3888 to make payment.

• Credit Card when you check in at the front desk.

• Check when you check in at the front desk, or by mail. Checks must be issued for the exact amount of the invoice. Checks can be made out to Austin Nature & Science Center and sent to our mailing address: 301 Nature Center Drive, Austin Texas 78746.  For At Your School programs, we cannot accept checks at your school-please have checks mailed for the exact invoiced amount.

To fit safely and comfortably into our classrooms, school groups must be divided into smaller groups of up to 25 students each. Therefore, fees for instructor-led programs are based on groups of 25 students. Up to 5 chaperones are allowed for each group of up to 25 students in a classroom. Any additional chaperones will be asked to wait outside of the classrooms and will not be able to observe the program.

Fees: 

At Your School: Reservations are $5.00 per student (non-Title I Schools) or $2.50 per student (Title I Schools). At Your School reservations require a minimum fee of $125, regardless of total number of students.

At ANSC:  Instructor-Led Program Fees

Texas Title I School List

Cancellations and Refund Policy:  

• Reservations close 3 weeks in advance of available dates.

• Inclement Weather Cancellation/Rescheduling: Our site is open rain or shine. In case of predicted precipitation, plan to bring appropriate outdoor weather clothing and gear. Please reconsider eating lunch on site if precipitation is predicted, there is NO indoor or covered space to eat. In the case of severe or dangerous weather conditions predicted by NOAA or local emergency management agencies, administration staff will work with you to cancel or transfer to any other available dates.

• Refunds: If a written cancellation request is received to anscprograms@austintexas.gov 30 or more calendar days in advance of your reservation, we will gladly refund your balance minus a $35 processing fee (or your field trip fee, whichever is less). If a written cancellation request is made with less than 30 calendar day notice, there will be no refunds or credits issued, and you will owe any balance due. 

Glossary:

• Reservation:   A reservation for an Instructor-Led program is a 2-hour block of time that includes your instructor-led program plus time to explore ANSC at your own pace.
• Instructor-Led Program:  We use Instructor-Led Program to refer to either at ANSC or At Your School programs led by our instructional staff.
• At Your School:  These are Instructor-Led Programs that take place in your school instead of at ANSC.
• Field Trip:   A field trip refers to a number of experiences we offer for school groups. You can visit ANSC at your own pace in groups of 15-200 via a Self-Guided Tour, participate in one of our Instructor-Led Programs at ANSC or At Your School, or you can participate in our Homeschool programs. All of these experiences require reservations in advance.
• Self-Guided Tour:  A field trip experience to ANSC at your own pace, with no instructor-led activities.
• Registration:   The process of filling out our online form and working with our administrative staff to get your reservation for an instructor-led program into RecTrac, our registration system.
• Group Size:   The number of students attending the Instructor-Led program. Your groups will be divided into smaller groups of up to 25 students to safely fit inside classrooms.
• Chaperone:   A non-school staff who accompanies students on the field trip experience. Only five chaperones are allowed per group of 25 students. Any additional chaperones must wait outside of classrooms and will not be able to observe the programs.

Day of Program Details

• After you’ve received a confirmation email from anscprograms@austintexas.gov and an invoice, the school program coordinator will email you with the specific program theme and group rotation times. Due to the volume and specificity of the requests, processing time for the day of the program details may take several weeks. Thank you in advance for your patience.
• Each group of 25 students (typically one class) will join an ANSC instructor for three rotating stations that correlate to the program theme. Each station has supplies for 25 students.
  • If you have large classes, please divide your classes into groups of 25 students before the field trip.
  • Smaller classes may be combined so the groups will fit into the program rotations.
• To fit safely and comfortably into our classrooms, school groups must be divided into smaller groups of up to 25 students each. Therefore, fees for instructor-led programs are based on groups of 25 students. Up to 5 chaperones are allowed for each group of up to 25 students in a classroom. Any additional chaperones will be asked to wait outside of the classrooms and will not be able to observe the program.
• The chart below shows several scenarios the ANSC program coordinator may assign you for your field trip. Your requested reservation time and the information from your request will be factored in when the program coordinator emails your field trip schedule. Please include specific needs on your request form including a later start time due to bus schedules.

Homeschool programs are STEAM-focused and instill an appreciation of the natural world while allowing collaboration and socializing with peers. We offer monthly meet-ups, a science club, and an adventure club.

Monthly Meet-Up and Science Club registration for the 2024-2025 school year is closed.  Registration for our next season will open in August 2025.

Monthly Meet-up

Monthly Meet-Up and Science Club registration for the 2024-2025 school year is closed.  Registration for our next season will open in August 2025.

Each month, students meet their peers in small group sizes while making discoveries about a new topic. We encourage students to participate without their guardians in the program.  

• 4 to 12-year-old students are divided into small groups by age to ensure the content is developmentally appropriate.  Each program rotates through stations and moves indoors and outdoors based on the topic.
• The 13 to 17-year-olds develop their leadership skills in nature-based education by assisting the staff as Educators in Training (EITs). In each session, EITs meet with an ANSC instructor for a few minutes about their role and then assist with a sign-in tabling activity. After sign-in, each EIT will join one age group to mentor students and assist the ANSC staff.

Class Details:

• Sessions for ages 4-6 years, 7-8 years, 9-12 years, and 13-16 years
• Monthly meet-up times for ages 4-12 years:  10:00 am -11:30 am or 12:30 pm -2:00 pm. The teen homeschoolers will have a tabling activity 15 minutes before the program begins. We encourage you to come early to try out the theme-related activity.
• Monthly meet-up times for ages 13-17 years (Educator In Training):  9:30 am -11:30 am or 12:00 pm -2:00 pm

2024-2025 Dates and Themes: 

• October 22 or 23: Above & Below
• November 19 or 20: Sustainability 
• December 17 or 18: Inspired by Nature
• January 21 or 22: Birds
• February 18 or 19: Plants & Trails

Fees for all 5 sessions:

• Ages 4-12: $45 City of Austin resident/ $55 non-COA resident

• Ages 13-17: $35 City of Austin residents/ $45 non-COA residents

Science Club

Monthly Meet-Up and Science Club registration for the 2024-2025 school year is closed.  Registration for our next season will open in August 2025.

This program is designed for students to explore, make observations, and answer testable questions using the scientific method. 

1st and 2nd Grade students will develop a group project to share at the Nature Center Science Fair.  

3rd through 5th Grade students will work on individual projects. Projects that meet eligibility requirements can enter the Greater Austin Area Regional Science Fair. 

Class Details:

• 1st and 2nd Grades, typically 6-8 years

• 3rd through 5th Grade, typically 8-11 years
• Science Club meets from 11:30 am -1:00 pm. 
• 2024-2025 Dates: October 15, November 12, December 10, January 7,  and January 14 (ANSC Science Fair date)

Fees for all 5 sessions: 

• $75 City of Austin residents/ $90 non-COA residents (Includes entry fee to Austin Regional Science Fair for eligible projects!)

Adventure Series

Each session focuses on a different activity. Activities include biking, caving, archery, and other adventure skills. Bring a sack lunch and a refillable water bottle! Participants in the Biking and Adventures around Austin sessions must be able to ride a bike for three miles unassisted.

Class Details:

• Designed for ages 12-15.

• Adventure Series meets from 9:00 am-1:00 pm. Participants in the Biking and Adventures around Austin sessions must be able to ride a bike for three miles unassisted.

2024-2025 Dates and Themes:

• Series 1: Outdoor Skills - October 17, October 24, October 31, *rain date November 7

• Series 2: Adventures around Austin - November 14, November 21, December 5, *rain date December 12

• Series 3: Caving - January 9, January 16, January 23, *rain date January 30

• Series 4: Biking - February 6, February 13, February 20, *rain date February 27

*Rain dates will only meet in the event inclement weather requires the cancelation of a previous date. You will be notified in advance if we are canceling due to weather.

Fee for each series: 

• $75 City of Austin residents/ $90 non-COA residents (Includes all required equipment)

Register for Homeschool

Cancellations and Refund Policy

• Reservations close 3 weeks in advance of available dates.

• Inclement Weather Cancellation/Rescheduling: Our site is open rain or shine. In case of predicted precipitation, plan to bring appropriate outdoor weather clothing and gear. In the case of severe or dangerous weather conditions predicted by NOAA or local emergency management agencies, ANSC may choose to cancel a session.  You will be notified in advance if we are canceling due to weather.  ANSC administration staff will work with you to cancel or transfer to any other available dates.  Homeschool Adventure Series includes rain dates that only meet in the event inclement weather requires the cancelation of a previous date. 

• Refunds: If a written cancellation request is received to anscprograms@austintexas.gov 30 or more calendar days in advance of your reservation, we will gladly refund your balance minus a $35 processing fee (or your fee, whichever is less). If a written cancellation request is made with less than 30 calendar day notice, there will be no refunds or credits issued, and you will owe any balance due.

Explore the Austin Nature & Science Center at your own pace with a Self-Guided Tour.

Reservations are required for organized groups of 15 or more participants. Groups of less than 15 participants do not need to have a reservation. This reservation policy applies to all types of group visitors: schools, non-profits, childcare facilities, homeschool groups, or private groups of 15 people or more. 

Program Overview and Registration

Dates & Times: 

Registration begins on September 4, 2024 at 10:00 am CST.

Each reservation for a Self-Guided Tour is for a 2-hour field trip window where your group explores the exhibits and grounds at your own pace: either 9:00am-11:00am, 11:00am-1:00pm or 1:00pm-3:00pm. Your group may arrive to begin your field trip anytime during your 2-hour field trip window.  

Self-Guided Tour reservations are for any age group up to 200 participants. School or organizational staff (teachers, school staff, instructors, aides) are always FREE and are not included in the group sizes below. If you have a group of more than 200 students, you will need more than one 2-hour field trip window reservation.  

 We do not offer Instructor-Led Programs or Self-Guided Tours during the summer (June-September) due to the high demand for Summer Camp programs at our facility. We cannot accommodate group visits during summer time of greater than 15 individuals.  

Fees & Payment: 

To safely and comfortably explore the Austin Nature & Science Center exhibits & grounds, school groups must be divided into smaller groups to explore the center (we recommend groups of 15-25 individuals each starting their exploration at a different exhibit or location at the Center). Up to 5 chaperones are allowed for every 25 students. 

Self-Guided Tours for All Schools (per 2-hour field trip window) at ANSC: 

Registration Steps

1. Check availability of your preferred dates/times in RecTrac here. 
2. Fill out the online Self-Guided Tour Registration Form. It may help to have the following information handy:  

• Three preferred dates/times that show as available on RecTrac 
• Grade Level of students, if applicable. 
• # of students / participants 
• # of teachers / organizational staff 
• # of chaperones (maximum of 5 chaperones per group of 25 students) 
• Your plans for eating lunch and/or snacks on site, if any.  We are a pack-it-in pack-it-out facility on a nature preserve, so any plans that involve eating on site must include taking trash and recycling back to your campus for disposal. 

3. Our administrative staff will reach out to you via your preferred method of contact within 72 hours to make your reservation. 
4. Once you have reserved a date and time, our programs staff will email you a copy of your invoice with balance due. 

Cancellation & Refund Policy

1. Inclement Weather Cancellation/Rescheduling – Our site is open rain or shine. In case of predicted precipitation: please plan to bring appropriate outdoor weather clothing and gear. Please reconsider eating lunch on site if precipitation is predicted, there is NO indoor or covered space to eat. In the case of severe or dangerous weather conditions predicted by NOAA or local emergency management agencies, administration staff will work with you to cancel or transfer to any other available dates free of charge. 
2. Cancellation / Refunds: If a written cancellation request is received to anscprograms@austintexas.gov 30 or more calendar days in advance of your reservation, we will gladly refund your balance minus a $35 processing fee (or your field trip fee balance, whichever is less). If a written cancellation request is made with less than 30 calendar day notice, there will be no refunds or credits issued, and you will owe any balance due. 

These documents will help you prepare for your visit! 

Maps

• Driving Directions to ANSC
• Bus Driver Bus Lane arrival- We have a bus lane along Stratford Dr that is oriented toward ANSC for participant drop-off. The most accessible way to position correctly is to drive through the Rollingwood neighborhood.  Once students have unloaded, buses must then move to a different parking spot. We do not have designated bus parking spaces.
• Nature Center Site
• Zilker Nature Preserve
  • black and white
  • color

Scavenger Hunts

• PreKindergarten - 1st Grade
  • black and white
  • color
• 2nd - 5th Grade
  • black and white
  • color

Frequently Asked Questions

 Reservations, Cancellations, and Rescheduling

What if it rains or there is severe weather on the day of our field trip?

• Our site is open rain or shine. In case of predicted precipitation, please plan to bring appropriate outdoor weather clothing and gear. Please reconsider eating lunch on site if bad weather is predicted, there is NO indoor or covered space to eat. In the case of severe or dangerous weather conditions predicted by NOAA or local emergency management agencies, or if ANSC must cancel your program, we will work with you to cancel or transfer to another available date free of charge.

What if we need to cancel or reschedule?

• If a written cancellation request is received at anscprograms@austintexas.gov 30 or more calendar days in advance of your reservation, we will gladly refund your balance minus a $35 processing fee (or your field trip fee, whichever is less). If a written cancellation request is made less than 30 calendar days before your scheduled field trip, there will be no refunds or credits issued, and you will owe any balance due. 

Arrival

What happens if I arrive late?

• Instructor-led programs rely on your on-time arrival to facilitate the program as designed. Please call the front desk staff at 512-974-3888 if you are running late. Instructors will do their best to accommodate late arrivals; however, program length may need to be adjusted.

Where do we go when we arrive?

• Upon arrival, please unload and meet at the large limestone blocks across from the entry meadow (photo). If your group is divided and some students will be going on a self-guided tour first and other students will be in the instructor-led program first, please send the groups that will be in the instructor-led program up first. We highly recommend having a plan for dividing up your school group before your arrival.

Where do I pay?

• Please send one representative from your school to our front desk, just inside the main entrance of our Visitor Pavilion.

Buses and Parking

Where can we park?

• Free parking is available on Stratford Dr. under the MoPac bridge across from the ANSC entrance. 

Where should the bus go? Do you have bus parking or bus lanes?

• We have a bus lane along Stratford Dr that is oriented toward ANSC for participant drop-off. The most accessible way to position correctly is to drive through the Rollingwood neighborhood. (map)  Once students have unloaded, buses must then move to a different parking spot. We do not have designated bus parking spaces.

Lunch

Where can we eat lunch?

• You may eat at the Overlook or the Entry Meadow. (photo) We are a pack-it-in pack-it-out facility on a nature preserve, so any plans that involve eating on-site must include taking trash and recycling back to your campus for disposal. In order to limit pests and ants, please do not eat around the animal enclosures or the dino pit.

Is there a place to store our lunches/backpacks/water bottles?

• Coolers or lunches can be placed in the lunch areas.  ANSC is not responsible for lost or stolen items. Items cannot be stored indoors due to space limitations and fire code regulations.

Where do we put our trash and recycling from lunch?

• We are a pack-it-in pack-it-out facility on a nature preserve, so any plans that involve eating on-site must include taking trash and recycling back to your campus for disposal.  We do not have trash or recycling receptacles for large groups.

Is there a place to buy food or drinks?

• We have a vending machine located by the bathrooms in the Headquarters Building, which only accepts cash. ANSC does not have change and cannot repair/refund/refill the machine.

Is there a gift shop?

• ANSC does not have a gift shop.

Program Specifics

Will my class be split up the entire time?

• We try to keep classes together and can accommodate up to 25 students per group for instructor-led programs.  If your class is larger than 25, we may need to move some students into a different group for the instructor-led program, but your class will be together for the remainder of your field trip.

What does my class do while they're not in an instructor-led program?

• Students who are not in a program with an instructor are welcome to explore our site with chaperones or teachers.  You may also opt to eat lunch while the other half of your students are in their program.

Chaperones

How many chaperones can we have? Where do they meet us?

• Only five chaperones are allowed per group of 25 students. Any additional chaperones must wait outside of classrooms and will not be able to observe the programs.
• Chaperones can meet the school group by the bus loading zone along Stratford Dr or by the limestone blocks across from the entry Meadow where ANSC instructors meet your school.

What are the chaperones' responsibilities? Do they have to pay? Where do chaperones park?

• Chaperones are expected to stay with students as they explore our site to make sure they are safe and accounted for.  We also occasionally ask chaperons to assist with activities during programs.  Up to five chaperones may accompany groups into classrooms and participate in our instructor-led programs.
• There is no charge for chaperones to attend a field trip with a school group. 
• There is parking available along Stratford Dr. under the MoPac Bridge.