School Groups

Booking a Field Trip

Select a Date

Our showtimes are Monday-Thursday from 9:30 am-1:30 pm. 

Friday show times are 9:30 am and 1:30 pm.

Our field trip events start on the half-hour and last 45 minutes. Each event consists of the show title you select, a live presentation on the current night sky (that is the stars and constellations visible at 9pm of the day you attend), and a virtual roller coaster ride (see note below regarding late arrival). Seating and dismissal takes about 15 minutes more. Teachers should allow about 1 hour for each show.

Schools are asked to arrive 30 minutes or more prior to show time, to allow for bathroom breaks and such.

Note For Late Arrivals: If your school is late, time constraints may require us to shorten your events by foregoing extras such as the roller coaster. Consider travel time, road conditions, traffic, etc. before booking show time

Attendance

 We require a minimum of 20 paid tickets to book a reservation. Free tickets do not count against the minimum.

Note for Small Groups (less than 20): We accept reservations for groups less than 20 only as follows:

  • Book into a show already scheduled by another school, in which case you only pay for actual attendance, or
  • Pay for the minimum 20 tickets even if actual attendance is less than 20

Call us at (254) 526-1768 to see if the date and time you want is available.  

Pick your show(s)

Pick any show(s) from our catalog. Click here to see what shows are available.

Do You Want One or Two Shows?

Each reservation lasts about 1 hour and includes a show of your choice, a live presentation on the constellations (Star Talk) or planets (Uniview), and a virtual roller coaster ride, plus about 15 minutes to seat and dismiss your students. (Please see Note for late arrivals, above. )

Multishow Discount

Book two shows on the same day and receive 20% off the regular ticket price. The price drops to $8 per student for both shows. That's only $4.00 per show! And teachers are still free.

Figure out the cost

Tickets are $5.00/ticket for one show. Book two shows booked for the same day is 20% less ($4.00/ticket equals a total of $8/kid). 

Free tickets.

  • Teachers are free on a 1:10 ratio. For every 10 paid tickets one teacher is free.
  • You may include school chaperones and bus drivers in your teacher count. 
  • Home schools - only the teacher or parent booking is free. 
  • Special needs groups may have as many teachers tickets as they feel necessary. 

Tax : Sales tax is not included in price.

  • We automatically exclude tax for public schools that are part of a Texas ISD.
  • Private, christian, charter, homes schools - bring your Texas Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certification form.  Otherwise, you will be taxed at 8.25%.
  • Parents, guests, siblings, etc. who pay for themselves are taxed (8.25%).

Notes for Parents and Guests: Guests are admitted space available, meaning that we seat all school kids and teachers (including other schools) before selling  to parents and guests. This means that:

  1. Parents and guests are not guaranteed a seat and should call beforehand to check availability. 
  2. Even if seats are available, they may not be next to their child.
  3. Schools that open filed trips to parents can include parents and guests in their attendance (which guarantees them seats). At showtime, we will delete their tickets and they pay for themselves.

Coupons are not accepted for school groups. 

Send us the information

Fill out our online pre-reservation form

The form is available here.

Check your Confirmation Letter

We will send you a confirmation letter within 2 days from the date you submitted your reservation. (Note: If that doesn't happen, call or email us.)

Check your reservation immediately and make sure the Confirmation Letter matches your plans.

If your field trip plans change...

You must notify us at least 2 or more school days in advance. If you don't, you will be billed the total amount of your reservation as booked.

Paying

Collections and final headcount should be made before you arrive. 

Payment is due at or before showtime. 

One payment only for the entire group. If the kids are paying for their own tickets, one person must collect all the money and turn it in as one payment. 

We accept cash, checks, debit and credit cards. Checks and cards are preferred to speed things up. Make checks payable to Central Texas College, not Mayborn Science Theater.

 

Prepare for the big day and enjoy it!

On the day of the field trip...

Arrive at least 30 minutes early. If you're going to be late, call us at (254) 526-1768 or, if no answer 526- 1799.  We may have to cut your reservation short if you are late!

Group Leader must check-in and make the payment, and at the same time students can be getting briefed on our rules of behavior.

Students must be quiet upon entering the building. Turn off all electrical devices that emit light or make noise. Please remember - the planetarium building is part of the college and so may have classes in session when your school arrives.

Make sure you don't park in a reserved parking spot. After you drop off the students at the front door please park the school buses in the parking lot across the street from the Mayborn Science Theater.

Enjoy the show!