Frequently Asked Questions

Below is a list of frequently asked questions about our school programs.

Why has the maximum number of students allowed for each lesson changed from past years?
In order to ensure a more personal and effective learning experience for your students, we have reduced the allowed number of students for many of the lessons we offer. We have found that when we are working with small groups, there is more time to interact with each student, activities are more engaging, students have greater enjoyment of the experience, and learning is greatly enhanced.  While there are limits on the number of students in each structured lesson, these limits do not pertain to the total size of the group you bring to the Museum.

What happens if more students attend our class session than scheduled?
Program and lesson class size maximums are set to provide the ideal educational experience and quality for the students. If the number of students you bring to your scheduled program is over the maximum for a lesson museum staff may need to significantly alter your program, schedule and charge you for additional lesson(s), and/or may not be able to teach your program.  If you think you may have more students than scheduled, please be sure to communicate with the Museum in advance.

How will your new educational philosophy impact my students?
During the 2007-2008 school year, we began implementing a new educational approach that engaged students through observable and interactive experiences.  Rather than simply delivering information our educators facilitated exploration, discovery and understanding what makes our world work.  We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from educators, parents and children about our new educational approach and we observed that students enjoyed the experience, were more engaged, and got more from the lesson.  We like to say that our educators, "teach people HOW to think, not what to think".

Where can we eat?
Coyote Point Museum has an outdoor picnic area in our gardens, near our Wildlife Habitats as well as an outdoor patio near the entrance to the Museum. Both locations may be used on a first-come, first-served basis. The patio may not be used if another class is in progress. The picnic area can accommodate 25-35 children and the patio can accommodate 15-20 children. There are many picnic areas in the park surrounding the museum, which are rarely used during the school week. Snacks are available for purchase in the Museum Store.

If I have more than one group scheduled for a class, what will students who are not in a lesson do during that time?
Additional groups are welcome to explore our Environmental Hall, Exhibits, Wildlife Habitats and Gardens. To enhance your students' learning experience, we can provide some observational activities to help guide students through our facilities and prepare them for their class session.  The Museum is surrounded by the Coyote Point Park.  Paved trails lead to several different natural habitats and a little bit of exploration can result in a lot of discovery.  A walk through the park is another wonderful way to pass the time while you are waiting for your next scheduled lesson.

How long does it take to go through the Museum?
The engagement and preparation of your group chaperones often dictates how long it takes to go through the Museum. Well-prepared and engaged chaperones can generally guide their group through the Environmental Hall and Wildlife Habitats in about an hour. To best prepare your chaperones, it often help for teachers to visit the museum prior to your group visit. Teachers are always admitted to the Museum free of charge.

Are you still offering the same classes that you offered in previous years?
Our class offerings change every year as we constantly improve our curricula and in response to requests from previous teachers for new subjects. This year, many of our class offerings have changed. We’re sorry, but we cannot teach programs that we have offered in previous years. Please review our 2008-2009 program offerings before submitting your registration form.

Why is a deposit required to register for classes this year?
Registering for Coyote Point Museum programs is on a first-come, first-served basis.  Scheduling programs requires communication between the group/class leaders and the Museum staff.  To ensure that the date and time of your program is secured, this year, we are asking for a deposit as your commitment to the scheduled session time.  The deposit is non-refundable and will be credited towards your total fees due.

Why have you reduced the offerings and areas you will travel for programs at school sites?
As part of our annual evaluation of our class offerings for effectiveness, resource requirements and program quality, the Museum determined that providing off-site classes at locations of significant distance from the museum did not meet our criteria for quality and effectiveness due to the significant staff resource requirements to provide these classes. In addition, the long travel times are not ideal for our Animal Ambassadors and we felt that the environmental impact of driving such distances gave further reason to focus our educational efforts locally.

Still have questions? Please contact our Program Scheduler at scheduler<at>coyoteptmuseum.org or 650.340.7598.