Field Trip Planning Guide

When you are ready to book your field trip, fill out our field trip request form.

Please be prepared to include the following information on the registration form

- Three potential field trip dates - Arrival and departure times - Estimated number of students - Approximate number of adults attending as chaperones - Curriculum topic(s) you would like covered in your program - Any special needs that your group may have - Elements you would like included in your field trip Once you have submitted your request, a representative of the Education Department will get in touch with you to confirm the date and time of your field trip. Your visit is not guaranteed until you have received a confirmation letter from us.

Field Trip Options

We offer a variety of different educational experiences for students. A field trip can include one or more of the following elements:

A Guided Tour

(Average Time: 75 Minutes) A Museum Teacher will guide small groups of students through the Hall of Fame and Museum.

A Learning Module Conducted by a Museum Teacher

(30 Minutes) In small groups, students will work with Museum Teachers to learn about a topic of your choice. Small groups may all complete the same lesson, or each group may complete a different learning module. Please state your choice of learning module(s) when you register for a field trip. Want to know what modules best meet the needs of your students? Email to speak with a member of our education department.

Time to Visit the Learning Center

(15 Minutes) The Learning Center offers students the chance to handle and try on replica uniforms and equipment from different periods of baseball history, while learning about the role these objects have played in the development of the game.

A “Meet & Greet” with Librarians in the Giamatti Research Center

(15 Minutes) A librarian will provide an introduction to the Giamatti Center which contains more than 3 million documents relating to baseball history. Librarians may show highlights of the collection and will explain how students can access library resources in the future.

Time to Research in the Giamatti Research Center

(Average Time: 90 Minutes) This is a great option if your students are conducting research related to baseball history for a school project or National History Day. We recommend library research sessions last at least one hour. You must be able to provide a list of students’ research topics in advance. Students must come prepared by bringing notebooks and pencils.

Home School Discovery Days

Please refer to our website for upcoming Home School Discovery dates. On select days, Education staff will offer special programs for Home School families and organizations in the subject areas of math, science, social studies, the arts, and character education. Programs may include hands-on, classroom and/or gallery presentations as appropriate. The student rate is $8.00/student. One adult chaperone per family is admitted free. Advance registration is required to receive the discount rate.

Spanish-Language Field Trips

We are able to offer special lessons and tours in Spanish depending on the availability of our bilingual Museum Teachers. Please call us to discuss this option for your field trip.

Important Things to Consider

How many students will you be bringing?

Our field trips require a minimum of 15 students per reservation. Each learning module is limited to 15 students. Larger groups (150+) may benefit from participating in a self-guided tour. Large groups who would like a fully guided experience may elect to come over the course of multiple days.

How much time do you have to spend at the Hall of Fame?

A Hall of Fame field trip can be customized to fit your needs. On average, schools that choose to participate in a fully guided program will spend between 2 ½ hours the Hall of Fame from arrival to departure. If you have a very limited amount of time (less than an hour and a half), you are more than welcome to visit the Hall of Fame for a self guided experience.

What time of year do you want to visit?

Field trip spots for May and June usually book far in advance. Whenever possible, try to arrange your visit during the months of September through April. The Hall has fewer non-school visitors during these months, and the absence of crowds will make your visit more enjoyable and more educational.

Do your students have special needs?

If your students have special needs, please give us a call to discuss which of our field trip options will best suit your students.

How can you incorporate your Hall of Fame field trip into your classroom curriculum?

Pre and post-visit lesson plans are available to enhance your field trip experience. You can download these PDF files free of charge at our website.

How do Hall of Fame field trips connect with Common Core State Standards?

All educational programs at the Baseball Hall of Fame support Common Core Standards.

Is there something special you’d like to cover during your field trip?

Are your students reading a book about a famous baseball player? Are you studying a particular period in American History? If so, please let us know and we will do our best to tailor your visit to reinforce what you've been teaching in the classroom.

Lunch Options

The Hall of Fame has no cafeteria and unfortunately does not have space for students to eat lunch within the building. Please contact the education department to discuss outdoor picnicking areas available in the Village of Cooperstown.

Lunch Storage

Lunches should be kept on the bus; we do not have a secure storage area for lunches in the museum.

Self-Guided Tour Options

If you wish to guide your own tour, we offer packets for teachers and chaperones. These packets are designed to be used with small groups of students (up to 10) with a chaperone. Large groups should be divided into groups of 10 students with one or more chaperones assigned to guide the experience. No advance subject knowledge is needed to use the self-guided tours. Please call or email the education department to request self-guided tour packets.

Topics Available

Civil Rights: Before You Could Say “Jackie Robinson” Women’s History: Dirt on Their Skirts Mathematics: Statistics & Geometry Labor History: Hardball and Handshakes Visual Arts: Painting the Corners

Trip Tips for Self-Guided Tours

Keep your group in one exhibit area at a time. Explore the area with your group and encourage questions. You don’t need to know the answers! Prompt students to think about possible answers for their questions and what steps they might take to discover the answers. If you have questions, ask a staff member. They are happy to help you find artifacts, show you how an exhibit interactive works, or answer your general questions. Count your students before moving to another area.

Roster Sheets

If your field trip will include any Learning Modules, you will be sent roster sheets for each one. List the first names of all students in each group, as well as the name of at least one chaperone. Please bring these sheets with you on the day of your visit; they we'll be used to divide your group. We try to keep the students in groups of as close to 15 as possible.

Field Trip Chaperone Guidelines

Chaperones play an essential role in creating a positive experience for students and for other Hall of Fame visitors. As a chaperone, your supervision is required to monitor and maintain the good behavior and safety of the students in your group. Make sure that you have a field trip itinerary and a list of students for whom you are responsible. Before leaving the bus, remind students that backpacks, food, and gum are not allowed at the Baseball Hall of Fame. These items should be left on the bus. While at the museum, stay with the group of students you have been assigned to monitor at all times (even if the students are high-school aged). Chaperones will be responsible for student management and discipline, as well as enforcing museum etiquette. Remind students to be considerate of other Hall of Fame visitors. Avoid blocking passages from one gallery to the next. Remind students to keep their voices down. Make room for other visitors who want to look at the exhibits.

Museum Etiquette

Please review the following information with students and chaperones both before, and on the day of your field trip. Use indoor voices. Walk at all times while in the museum. When moving up or down stairs, stay to the right side to allow others to pass. No drinks, candy, food, or gum are allowed inside the Museum. Use only pencils to take notes. Do not lean on or against any exhibit cases. Backpacks and large bags are not allowed in the galleries. Please leave these items on the bus. (Exceptions are made for bags containing medication.) Cell phones and other electronic devices should be silenced (or left on the bus). Cameras are allowed inside the museum.

Electronics Policy

While we do not prohibit students and chaperones from bringing electronic devices with them on field trips, they can be very distracting. Please consider asking students to leave electronic devices at home or on the bus during their field trip to maximize learning. If teachers and chaperones carry cell phones, the ringers must be turned off.

Pre-Departure Checklist for Teachers

As you prepare for your field trip, use this handy checklist to help keep you organized. Provide students with copies of the “Pre-Departure Checklist for Students”.

Things to Do

Double-check your field trip start time. Your start time is clearly indicated on your confirmation email. Check in with the bus company to verify departure time. Plan your route to Cooperstown. Bring parking directions for your bus driver. Please plan to arrive a little early if possible (10-15 min.).We want to maximize the time we have with your students, and it’s also a courtesy to our Museum Teachers who make time in their schedules to teach field trips. Remind students and chaperones of departure time.

Things to Bring

Name tags – All members of your group should wear name tags listing their name and the name of your group/school. Roster sheets for small groups. Please have these on hand, to remind everyone what group they are in, and what module they are participating in. School check, purchase order, or credit card for payment. File with emergency numbers and student health information. Student medical supplies.

Pre-Departure Checklist for Students

Things to Bring

Pencils, notebooks, and clipboards if you are expected to take notes. Money for souvenirs. (If applicable) Camera

Please do not bring the following into the museum

Backpacks Electronic Devices (cell phone, iPod, etc.) Pens Candy/Gum

Bus Drop-Off and Parking

Buses may stop to un-load at the marked Bus Stop area on Main Street just past the entrance to the Hall of Fame. Please Be Aware: Your bus cannot remain parked in the bus stop on Main Street. Drivers may return to the bus stop to pick up students - please make sure bus drivers know your departure time. After dropping off, bus drivers may proceed to the following locations:

Doubleday Field Parking Lot

This centrally-located parking lot is accessible from Chestnut Street (south of the Chamber of Commerce). Bus parking in this lot is very limited.

Cooperstown Trolley Lots

Blue Lot – Off Route 28, South of the Village Red Lot – Main Street & Railroad Avenue Yellow Lot – On Route 80, across the street from The Farmers’ Museum Your driver can ride the Trolley for free if they wish to return to the Hall of Fame and tour on their own during your field trip.

The Day of Your Field Trip – On the Bus

Prepare Students

Review the field trip itinerary with students. Let them know the time they will be eating lunch, whether or not they will be visiting the Museum Store and if they will have time to tour the museum on their own. Consider allowing students to have a snack on the bus before the field trip begins. Remind students to leave electronic devices on the bus. Pass out name tags.

Prepare Chaperones

Make sure that all chaperones have reviewed the Chaperone Guidelines and are aware of the group of students for whom they are responsible. Ensure that all chaperones have copies of the field trip itinerary.

Review Hall of Fame Behavior Expectations

Food, candy, drinks, and gum are NOT allowed inside the Museum. Backpacks and large bags are not allowed in the galleries. Please leave these items on the bus. (Exceptions are made for bags containing medication.) Cameras are allowed inside the Museum. Use quiet voices in the museum - remember there are other visitors at the Hall of Fame.

Late Arrival Policy

Groups must arrive on time. If you are running late or must cancel, please call the Education Department at 607-547-0329 to alert Hall of Fame staff. Late arrivals will result in shortened or re-structured programs. Any group arriving at the Baseball Hall of Fame more than 30 minutes past their scheduled arrival time will not receive a guided tour, and cannot be guaranteed a structured education program. If your guided program is cancelled due to late arrival at the Baseball Hall of Fame, you will be offered a self-guided museum experience.

The Day of Your Field Trip – Once You Arrive

Please arrive with a final count of students, adult chaperones, and staff. A representative of the Education Department will meet and greet your group outside the front entrance of the museum. Your greeter will ask that you divide your students into the pre-determined small groups before entering the Hall of Fame. Each group will then be led into the museum. Restrooms are available throughout the building and time is allowed at different points before, during and after your program to use the facilities. If necessary, museum staff will direct you to a coat rack and place to store belongings. Please remember that we do not have a locked area available to hold lunches, bags, etc. Teachers must remain with students for the duration of the field trip.

Souvenir Shopping

As souvenirs can be a distraction, we generally request that students wait until the end of their visit to shop. However, for groups of more than 50, we can build 15 minutes into that group's itinerary. This will add 15 minutes to your programming time with us. If your students will be souvenir shopping, they must be closely chaperoned at all times.

Free Exploration Time

If students are to be given free time to explore the museum, they should be accompanied by chaperones. The Hall of Fame has a Discovery Tour scavenger hunt that can be picked up at the ticket booth. Hall of Fame Behavior Expectations are still in effect during exploration time.

Student Fees

The cost of a Hall of Fame field trip is $8.00 per student. A discounted rate of $7.00 per student is available if the teacher reserving the program has a current museum membership. To find out more about our membership program, call 607-547-0328.

Required Adults

1 chaperone is required per every 10 students. Teachers are counted in the chaperone-to-student ratio. Adults within the 1:10 ratio will be admitted free of charge. Personal aides for students with special needs will be admitted free, and will not count towards the 1:10 ratio.

Additional Adults

Adults above and beyond the 1:10 ratio pay the standard adult entry fee to the Hall of Fame.

Field Trip Payment

Payment for your field trip is required on the day of your visit. Please plan to pay for your entire group (teachers, students, chaperones, bus drivers, etc.) with one payment.

If parents are paying separately, please collect their money in advance.

We accept cash, personal checks, school checks, purchase orders, and credit cards. You will be provided with a receipt for payment. In the event of over-payment, a refund will be issued directly to the school.