School Programs

Up-Close View Of Native Wildlife For Classes & Homeschool Groups

Tour our Wildlife Sanctuary with your students to learn how to safely coexist with native Arizona wildlife. Small groups get an up-close view of Southwest Wildlife as we share the stories of our sanctuary residents.

Tours are led by experienced guides using an engaging, standards-based curriculum. The tour is two hours long and takes place completely outdoors.

Field Trip Schedule

  • School trips are offered Monday mornings only, as public tours take place on other days.
  • Each field trip can accommodate up to 50 participants (students and adults combined). Larger groups must be split over multiple days.

Curriculum & Tours

Tours are led by experienced docents and are based on grade-level curricula:

  • Grades K–4: Mammal Habitats
  • Grades 5–8: The Food Web & Carrying Capacity
  • Grades 9–12: Habitat Fragmentation

Rates

  • Minimum cost: $100 (covers the first 10 students)
  • Additional students: $10 each
  • Adults/teachers/chaperones: $15 each
  • Final headcount and payment must be submitted 14 days prior to your tour
Tour guide showing photos to a group of children at a wildlife facility on a sunny day.

INITIAL request for school program form

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FIELD TRIP FAQs

The school field trip rate only applies to school groups (homeschool, public school, charter school, and private school) and groups that are for children such as girl scouts and boy scouts. If your group has more adults than children you will be charged the private tour rate. Call the education department at 480-471-3621 or submit our Contact Us form for more information about private tours.

School field trips are 2 hours long. You may see native southwest mammals including black bears, mountain lions, coyotes, foxes and more. 

School field trips are an engaging adventure that include educational activities along the tour route. 

We are located near the town of Rio Verde, North of Fountain Hills in North Scottsdale. Our physical address is 27026 N 156th St, Scottsdale, AZ 85262.

On weekends our facility cannot accommodate private or school tours due to an increase in public tours. If your group can only attend on a weekend, please submit your request as far in advance as possible to give us time to try and accommodate.

Due to the high number of requests coming in for school tours, please let us know as soon as possible if you are interested in setting up a tour date. January through April are very busy months in which we fill up all available dates for school tours. The sooner you commit to a date, the higher the likelihood that you will get the date that you desire. Tours must be booked and the deposit paid at least one month in advance.

Yes! Our animals receive care every day, year-round. During the summer, we only offer public morning tours. However, we do not offer school tours during the summer.

Tours are outdoors as you weave in and out of shady and sunny areas. Remember to have your students wear hats and sunblock, bring water, and wear closed-toed shoes.

We are closed to the public outside of our scheduled tour times. You must be with a tour guide to see our facility.

Your students will learn about the vital importance of native mammals to Southwest Ecosystems. They will learn basic facts about each species as well as each individual animal’s story of how they came to live at Southwest Wildlife. We teach that wild animals are not pets and how to safely coexist with the wildlife around you. We also love sharing our appreciation of the Sonoran Desert with your class!

There are no food options onsite and picnicking space is not available.

Yes, we can fit a full-size school or charter bus in our parking lot.