Field Trips

Fairyland Flora & Fauna:

A hands-on life science program is available to add to your field trip experience.

Fairyland is proud to offer Flora & Fauna workshops for your next field trip experience. Fairyland Flora & Fauna is a program designed to bring out the inner naturalist in children. Perfect for K to 2nd grade classes, children explore plants and animals through hands-on activities, storytelling and play!

Field trip groups can choose between three Flora & Fauna options: 

• Germination Station:
  • Inside every seed is a plant waiting to spring to life! Go on the journey with the seed and learn more about the magical plant life cycle through play and planting. 
• Pollinators Go!:
  • Come explore the superheroes of the garden and learn how plants and pollinators depend on each other, and how you too can become a superhero by preserving their habitat and food source! 
• Senses Lab: 
  • Hands-on exploration using all five senses! Children will explore their senses to make observations and connections through different activities that investigate smell, taste, touch, sight and hearing. 
• Worms & Dirt: 
  • Just below the surface of the soil lives an entire community of decomposers. Who am I talking about? Well, worms of course! Discover the value of our invertebrate friends and their hard work in the garden, taking organic waste and turning it into nutrient-dense soil!

Program Cost:

• Each 30-minute program is $75 for up to 25 children 
• Each additional class from the same school is $25 more

Group discount offered at half the general admission price. Scholarships and bus transportation are available for under-resourced communities.

Fairyland Puppet Players:

A hands-on puppet program is available to add to your field trip experience.

Fairyland Puppet Players for Preschools is a 40-minute storytelling workshop focusing on social-emotional learning through puppet engagement. The program teaches tools for emotional regulation and invites children to work through everyday conflicts together. Children and their adult chaperones will be brought into short 7-minute vignettes and will help the puppet protagonists, Jax and Bo, navigate their “big feelings.” Children and chaperones will get to use hand puppets and props and join the storytelling through dramatic play. Each workshop can accommodate up to 20 children and 8 chaperones.

Fairyland Puppet Players will:

• Build on social-emotional skills
• Practice fine motor skills with puppets
• Practice call and response
• Take home an informational sheet that includes a puppet theater kit and resources for caregivers

Workshops are offered to preschools and parent playgroups during their field trips:

Wednesday and Fridays (August, September, October, April, and May)

Fridays only (November, December, February, and March)

10:15 a.m., 11:30 a.m. or 12:15 p.m.

Program Cost:

• Each 40-minute program is $75 for up to 20 children 
• Each additional class from the same school is $25 more

Group discount offered at half the general admission price. Scholarships and bus transportation are available for under-resourced communities.

Noise-Reducing Headphones and Tactile Tote

The front desk has two pairs of child-friendly noise-reducing headphones that may be signed out and then returned when you leave the park. If anyone in your party is feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated, they may also borrow our Tactile Tote, which contains several sensory toys.

Booking a field trip

• The easiest way to book a field trip to Fairyland is to fill out a field trip request form. If you need help, please call 510-452-2259.
• Your trip is not confirmed until you receive a confirmation email from us. Processing time is approximately two weeks.
• We accept field trips year-round but only on weekdays (space permitting). Please choose three dates on your registration form and we will help you find the best day.
• If classes want to pay separately, the teachers must sign up separately for trips.
• The child to adult ratio is five children to every one adult.

Check-in

• Everyone in your group should wear a visible label with your school’s name and phone number. For safety reasons, please do not include children’s names on the labels.
• The group should meet on one of the grassy or dirt areas near the oak trees in front of the Big Shoe.
• An adult should alert the ticket window when everyone has arrived so that a Fairyland representative can welcome your group, give a safety talk, and handle your payment. Please provide an accurate head count for your group.

Payment

• The entire group must be here to receive the field trip price and must pay in a lump sum.
• Entrance is $9 for all ages, except for infants under one, who are free. Anyone who arrives after the group enters must pay the regular price of $17 per child (ages 1-17) and $19 per adult (ages 18+).
• We accept cash, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and school checks but do not accept American Express, purchase orders, or personal checks. Our preferred method of payment is credit card.
• Magic Keys cost an additional $3 each. They unlock the storybook boxes in the park, and everyone can keep theirs forever!
• In case of inclement weather, a decision is made whether or not to close the park by 8:30 a.m. You can always cancel ahead of time if it looks like rain. No trip, no charge!

Supervision

• We require one adult chaperone (18 or older) for every five children on a field trip.
• Children on field trips must stay with their adults the entire time they are at Fairyland.
• Chaperones are responsible for the children’s behavior in the park. This includes littering, removing things from the premises, harassing animals and wildlife, picking plants, etc. We reserve the right to expel people from the park if they do not comply with these rules.

While in the Park

• There is no storage for guests in the park, and no bikes or skate equipment allowed.
• Food can be brought or purchased at the Johnny Appleseed Café.
• The Magic Lamp Toy Shop allows only five students with one chaperone in at a time.
• Please let us know if anyone in your group has special needs which require accommodation.
• The puppet show airs at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m. every day that we are open. It is first come, first seated, and we request that adults sit in the back or on the sides so children can see.

Transportation

• If the group is arriving by cars, parking is managed by the city of Oakland. Parking on Bellevue is $2 for every two hours or $10 per day.
• Buses may drop off groups for free. But if you need to park, the cost is $15 per bus. Our preferred bus provider is Michael’s Transportation, which has shown exemplary customer service.

Michael’s Transportation Services, Inc.

2029 Bennington Drive

Vallejo, CA 94591

707-643-2099

How do I reserve a field trip?

There are several ways to sign up for a trip:

• Fill out a field trip request form for the fastest response
  
  
• Or call (510) 452-2259 or email our Community Engagement Manager, Topaz Bess, with any questions.

How will I know that my trip is confirmed?

After you submit your field trip request, someone will reach out to you to confirm logistics and solidify your booking.

When can I bring a field trip?

We accept field trips year-round but only on weekdays. Our seasonal calendar means that we have different open schedules at different times of year. Please call us at (510) 452-2259 for more information. Please see our PDF field trip calendar for field trip days.

What if I end up with more or less people than I listed on the registration?

That’s fine, as long as you have at least one adult (18 or older) for every five children. We settle invoices on the day of your field trip. Please arrive with an accurate head count. 

What if I have chaperones who want to bring siblings of children in the class?

That’s fine as well, as long as you have at least one adult (18 or older) for every five children. We will honor the field trip rate for additional visitors, and there is no admission fee for children under the age of one.

What if the chaperones pay for themselves?

The teacher or group leader must collect the money before arriving at Fairyland and pay for everyone in one lump sum.

More than one group from our school will be arriving on the same bus. Will we need separate reservations?

The teacher who made the reservation must pay for the whole group to enter the park with one payment. If classes want to pay separately, then each teacher should make his or her own reservation.

If I don’t make a reservation and simply show up with my group, can we still receive the discount?

If you don't book in advance, our walkup group rate for 10 or more people with a recommended 1:5 parent-to-student ratio is $3 off the regular admission cost of $17 per child (ages 1-17) and $19 per adult (ages 18+).

How can I speed up check-in?

There are several ways to speed up check-in:

• Have your whole group together by the oak trees before telling the ticket window that you are here.
• Have all your money together if you are paying cash.
• Know the total number of children, adults, and infants under one in your group.

What if it rains?

We determine all park closures based on safety conditions. If we decide to close the park, we will call the school to notify you, and reschedule your field trip. You may also call our office at (510) 452-2259 to check about park closures, and are free to cancel ahead of time if it looks like rain. No trip, no charge!

Where can we eat?

You can choose from a variety of eating options:

• Bring bag lunches and eat at picnic tables or on the grass in the Teddy Bear Picnic Area.
• Reserve the Cinderella party area if you want a private space ($75).
• Buy lunch at the Johnny Apple Seeds Café by Bean Sprouts (remember that there may be a line).