FIELD TRIPS AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS AT THE PUEBLO ZOO
Field trips are a fun way to learn about animals, and get involved in conservation locally and globally!
We are excited to host your group. Please review the following information designed to make your trip to the zoo as enjoyable and safe as possible.
Pre-Payment
Pre-payment is highly recommended.
Wristbands will be issued upon receipt of your pre-payment so that your group may enter the zoo quickly on the day of your visit.
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Send pre-payment by mail at least two (2) weeks prior to visit: 3455 Nuckolls Ave., Pueblo, CO 81005
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Pre-payments made in person at the zoo should be done Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm.
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Pre-payment using a card can be made on the phone by calling 719-561-1452 x 125
If you are able to pre-pay, then the day of your field trip will be a matter of unloading and organizing your students and then entering the zoo.
If you pay on the day of your visit, you will be asked to go to the booth to pay in a lump sum, where you will receive wristbands. You can then take the wristbands back to distribute to students before they will be permitted to enter the zoo.
Chaperone Guide
Thank you for choosing to be a role model for your students today on their trip to the Pueblo Zoo!
Guidelines to make your zoo field trip a success:
Please stay with your group
An adult must accompany students at all times. Students who are found unsupervised will be held until chaperones have been located. You may visit the gift shop with your group, but please be aware that only 8 students are permitted in the gift shop at a time and must be accompanied by a chaperone. This may mean waiting in a line to enter the shop on busy days.
Be courteous and respectful of other visitors to the zoo
The zoo is a very busy place during the school year. There will likely be other school groups and visitors here the day of your field trip. Please make sure that students respect the other guests by using quiet voices when indoors and staying off of exhibits and railings.
Please help protect our animals
Do not allow students to disturb the animals by tapping or hitting the glass on any exhibits. Students must not feed any animals unapproved food items (approved food can be purchased for the ducks/geese at the feeders located in the farm). Do not allow students to drop anything into an exhibit.
Leave no trace
Please make sure to leave the zoo the way that you found it when you arrived. Dispose of trash appropriately and please remind students not to pick any foliage (leaves, flowers, ect) around zoo grounds.
Be prepared
Talk with the teacher ahead of time and know your responsibilities as a chaperone. Please have a cell phone number for a teacher. If you become separated from the school, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to contact them. Write down meeting times/locations and bus information. Know the students in your group and make sure they know you too! Be familiar with the zoo rules and expectations for behavior.
Scavenger Hunts
We have created scavenger hunts that can be printed from our website - Click Here For Scavenger Hunts. Find out if your teacher is planning on using one and review it beforehand so that you can engage the students in their learning as they explore the zoo.
Lunch
Your field trip to the zoo may span the lunch hour. We do not have secure lunch storage facilities, but you may keep lunches in the public hallway of our administration building.
If you choose to have lunch during your trip, our zoo grounds has dispersed picnic tables. The Pueblo Zoo does not have any free covered facilities. You may eat in any of the open, grassy spaces and picnic tables that are located around the zoo. There is also a covered pavilion located in Pueblo City Park, just outside of the zoo grounds. The covered pavilion in Pueblo City Park is free to use, though may be reserved, and operates on a “first come, first served” basis.
The Pueblo Zoo does have the Mandari Pavilion, a covered facility, for rent. If you would like to rent our large Mandari Pavilion, there is a $75 fee Monday - Thursday and we need to know at least a week in advance. This fee is exclusive to schools on field trips. Regular Mandari rental fees apply to bookings Friday - Sunday. If you would like to rent the Mandari Pavilion for the day of your trip, please call 719-561-1452 x 125.
Groups are required to clean up any trash and leave any space the way that you found it.
Bus Procedures
Buses should enter the zoo parking lot and proceed to the far north end, towards the playground.
Classes should unload from the buses and immediately proceed to the grassy area/sidewalk near the concession stand. Teachers - please use this area to organize your students into chaperone groups. We do not want classes crowding the zoo entrance.
If your group is prepaid and you have handed out wristbands, please proceed into the zoo for your field trip as soon as you are organized.
Groups that did not prepay & receive wristbands will need to do so before being allowed into the zoo. A teacher should proceed to the entrance to make payment and can then return to the group. Additionally, chaperones that did not prepay with the group should purchase their individual ticket before entering the zoo with their group. School groups will not be allowed to enter the zoo until all chaperones have paid. Any teachers/staff of the school will not be charged admission to the zoo for a field trip.
Bus Parking
After the students have been dropped off, buses may go park. BUSES ARE NOT BE PERMITTED TO PARK IN THE PUEBLO ZOO PARKING LOT. They may be parked in any legal spot around City Park. Recommended spots are the road in City Park before the dog park (Zoo Ave, Goodnight Ave, Collins Ave).
Parent chaperones may park in the zoo parking lot. Due to the high volume of field trips in April and May, please be aware that the lot may fill up. If this does occur, parents may park on the side of the road through City Park.
