Visitor Center Field Trips

Ranger speaks to students

Reservations for the 2023-24 school year are booked. Reservations for the 2024-25 schoool year will open at 8:00 AM PST on August 26, 2024.

Schools are welcome to schedule a field trip visit to the Channel Islands National Park Robert J. Lagomarsino visitor center. Standards-based ranger programs are available for grades two – five. Visits are free of charge, but reservations are required and should be made well in advance, especially for spring programs.

Visitor center programs are offered on:

• Wednesdays and Fridays: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM - earliest start time is 9:00 AM; latest start time is 10:00 AM

• Thursdays: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM - earliest start time is 9:00 AM; latest start time is 2:00 PM

To ensure we are providing the best opportunities for student engagement while maintaining a safe learning environment, the maximum capacity for our visitor center field trips is 65 students per group.

Chaperone Policy: One adult for every eight students. Teachers and chaperones are expected to support student learning and positive behavior expectations.

When National Park Foundation's Open Outdoors for Kids grant funding is available, bus reimbursement may be available for Ventura County 4th grade classes at schools with Title One status. If you are eligible, please inquire with a park representative when you submit your reservation form.


A field trip to the Channel Islands National Park visitor center includes:

Welcome and Orientation, 10 minutes

Ranger Program, 25-30 minutes

Self-Directed Visitor Center Activities (Junior Ranger Sheets Available Upon Request), 45 - 60 minutes

Rotations: 15 - 20 minutes at each of the three locations:

  • Visitor center exhibits
  • Native Plant Garden
  • Observation Tower/ Topographic Maps

Park Film, “A Treasure in the Sea,” 24 minutes
(Upon Request - can also be a pre or post-visit learning experience; park film is available on our website)

Program Descriptions:

Channel Islands National Park offers two standards-based 25-minute ranger programs to choose from for your visitor center field trip. Explore the descriptions below to decide which is right for your students.

Island Fox Explorations (Grades 2-3)
Students will discover the structures and behaviors of the endemic Island Fox which help them to survive in their isolated environment.

  • Supports Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) 3-LS4-2 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity - Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
  • Supports Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) 3-LS4-3 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity - Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
  • Supports Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) 3-LS4-4 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity - Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.



Sea Star Superpowers (Grades 4-5)
Students observe organisms of the kelp forest ecosystem investigating the structures and adaptations that help them survive.

 
Schedule a field trip to the visitor center
To request a field trip visit to the Channel Islands National Park Robert J. Lagomarsino visitor center, please choose a program from the Program Descriptions on this page and complete the Education Reservation Request Form - NPS Form 10-1750 below.

When completing your form, please provide a minimum of two alternative dates.

NPS Form 10-1750 (Rev. 04/2021)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0228
Expiration Date 11/31/2025

Disclaimer:

A park representative will follow-up to confirm group details once this request has been received and reviewed.


NPS Form 10-1750 (Rev. 04/2021)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0228
Expiration Date 11/31/2025

Notices

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: Public Law 114-289 National Park Service Centennial Act and 54 U.S.C. 100701 Protection, interpretation, and research in System.

Purpose: To administer education programs for education audiences including but not limited to school groups, scouting groups, extracurricular groups, and home school groups.

Routine Uses: To effectively manage requests for education received by the NPS, the Education Reservation Request Form is used to collect basic education reservation information to facilitate operational aspects of scheduling groups for park education programs, including in-park education programs, ranger in classroom programs, and/or online distance learning programs.

Disclosure: Voluntary, however, failure to provide the requested information may impede the ability to grant your education reservation request.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

We are collecting this information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501) to provide park managers and educators the information needed to schedule and conduct education program activities. All applicable parts of the form must be completed in order for your request to be considered. You are not required to respond to this or any other Federal agency-sponsored information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. OMB has approved this collection of information and assigned control number 1024-0288.

Estimated Burden Statement

Public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525. Do not send your completed form to this address.

Last updated: March 14, 2024

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Contact Info

Mailing Address:

1901 Spinnaker Drive
Ventura, CA 93001

Phone:

805 658-5730

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