School Program Pre-Visit Information and Policies

Educator Resource Packets
Group and Chaperone Requirements
Chaperone Involvement
Cancellation & Rescheduling Policy
Location and Directions
Parking
Upon Arrival
Lunch
Touring the Museum's Great Hall and Exhibitions
Visiting the Museum Shop

Special Instructions for attending:
City by Design and Green by Design
Patterns: Here There and Everywhere and My House, My Home

Educator Resource Packets

Some of the Museum’s programs include Educator Resource Packets, which include pre- and post-visit lessons and activities to prepare for and follow up on Museum experiences. Please review these packets before your trip.

Teachers are eligible to receive one hard copy of an educator resource packet for each registered program. Additional hard copies of these packets are available for $10 each. If you would like to purchase additional hard copies, please email youthgroups@nbm.org or call the Museum at 202.272.2448.

Group and Chaperone Requirements

Program	Student Groups	Chaperones
	Before arriving at the Museum, divide each class (group of up to 25-30 students) into:	One adult must accompany every five children grades PreK-3 and every 10 children grades 4-9. In addition, each program has minimum chaperone requirements regardless of the number of students:
Architecture 101	2 groups	4
Be a Green Builder	4 groups (red, yellow, green, and blue)	4
City by Design	4 groups (red, yellow, blue, and purple)	4
Drawing on History Tour	15 students or less: 1 group 16-30 students: 2 groups	15 students or less: 2 16-30 students: 4
Fuller’s Fantastic Geodesic Dome	1 group	4
Green by Design	5 groups (NW, NE, SW, SE, and Midwest)	4
My House, My Home	4 groups	4
Patterns: Here, There and Everywhere	3 groups	3

Chaperone Involvement

NBM’s programs are hands-on and require adult encouragement and support. In order to create the most meaningful environment for everyone, we ask adults to assist students. Our Museum staff will provide more specific directions during the program about how adults may assist children. Please prepare your chaperones accordingly. Group leaders, teachers, and chaperones may not leave their class during a program to visit the shop, exhibitions, or café. If the required number of chaperones is not present, the program may need to be altered.

Cancellation & Rescheduling Policy

I. Three Weeks' Notice Required: To be eligible for a refund or to reschedule a program, the Museum must receive written notification no later than three weeks prior to the program date. Email youthgroups@nbm.org to cancel.

II. Payment: If payment or the Museum's Fee Waiver Form are not received three weeks prior to the program, the program may be cancelled.

III. Free Programs: Schools that are receiving free programs and do not comply with the three week cancellation notice requirement will be ineligible to book any new programs or attend any already scheduled programs at the Museum for the remainder of the current school year. To become re-eligible for programs during the affected school year, schools may opt to pay for the programs that were cancelled with less than three weeks' notice.

IV. Exceptions: If a school's administration cancels a field trip less than three weeks before the scheduled trip due to a change in school policy, a letter from the principal indicating the change in policy will be required to receive a refund or to reschedule the cancelled program. If a school cancels field trips due to inclement weather or to an unexpected change in the Homeland Security Threat system, the Museum will schedule the program or provide a full refund.

V. How to Reschedule: Rescheduling must be completed at least three weeks prior to the original program date. Revisit http://go.nbm.org/schoolvisit to book a new program date. After securing a new date, cancel the original reservation by emailing youthgroups@nbm.org. Any payments will be transferred to the new reservation.

VI. Late Arrival: The Museum makes every attempt to accommodate each school program; however, if a group arrives more than one hour late, the program may be cancelled.

VII. Museum Closures: Occasionally, the Museum is forced to close unexpectedly or to host unanticipated events in Museum spaces. In this case, the Museum will notify you as soon as possible to reschedule the program or provide a full refund. The Museum reserves the right to cancel programs.

Location and Directions

The National Building Museum is located at 401 F Street NW, between 4th and 5th Streets. The Museum is not located on the National Mall. A wheelchair accessible entrance is available through the G Street entrance. The Museum is conveniently located across the street from the Judiciary Square Metro (Red Line) and two blocks east of the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro (Red, Yellow, and Green Lines). Directions are available at http://www.nbm.org/plan-visit/accessibility-directions/.

Parking

The Museum is unable to provide public parking. Two-hour metered parking for cars is located on all sides of the building. Buses may park in the G Street driveway if drivers remain with their buses at all times. Nearby parking garages for cars and vans are located at the Verizon Center’s 6th Street entrance and at the corner of 7th and H Streets.

Upon Arrival

The F Street doors open at 8:30 am (even though the Museum does not open until 10:00 am).
The G Street and 5th Street doors do not open until 10:00 am. If you arrive before 10:00am, you may either wait outside or walk to the F Street entrance.
Have a total count of children and adults for the guard at the entrance.
Security measures may require the inspection of adult bags.
A Museum Teacher in a red shirt will greet you inside the entrance at the start time of your program.

Lunch

There are no formal lunch facilities at the Museum; however, children may eat in the Great Hall when space is available. Please be advised that the Great Hall is frequently used for events, during which times children will have to picnic on the Museum’s west lawn or elsewhere.

Touring the Museum's Great Hall and Exhibitions

A select number of school programs include building tours (Drawing on History tour) or exhibition visits (My House, My Home and Architecture 101). All other programs occur in the Museum's Great Hall or in our classrooms. If you are interested in exploring the Museum before or after your scheduled school program, read below.

Great Hall: Entrance to the Museum's Great Hall is free and accessible to all visitors. You and your students (in small chaperone-led groups) are welcome to walk around the 1st floor and the 2nd and 3rd floor balconies of the Museum. If you would like to schedule a docent-led tour of the Museum's historic building, click here.

Exhibitions: Your school program fee includes complimentary access to the Museum's exhibitions immediately before or after your program. If you would like to take a self-guided tour of the Museum's exhibitions, you can pick up exhibition tickets (wristbands) at the Museum's Admission Desk to distribute to your students upon arrival or after your program. For more information about visiting the exhibitions with your students, click here. If you would like to schedule a docent-led tour of an exhibition, click here.

Visiting the Museum Shop

When visiting the Museum Shop, please visit with a group of 10 students or less, with the appropriate number of chaperones. Check-in with Museum Shop staff when entering the shop.

Special Instructions for attending the City by Design and Green by Design programs

During your program, your students will be building a model city or model green houses. To supplement supplies provided by the Museum and to be environmentally friendly, please encourage your students to bring recyclable items from home to use as part of their buildings. Requested items include, but are not limited to: washed plastic containers; empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls; small boxes from soap, rice, or pasta; and egg cartons. Please avoid bringing milk or juice containers, containers that once held nuts, or items that may be dangerous for children. Fliers are available in English and Spanish that you can send home to encourage students to contribute materials.

Special Instructions for attending the Patterns: Here There and Everywhere and My House, My Home programs

Before registering for the Patterns program, please be sure that any young children attending can maintain focus for the 1 1/2 hour long program. You are welcome to bring a snack to eat during the program if your Museum visit is scheduled during the students' normal snack or lunchtime. This program is intended for students in PreK4, Kindergarten, and 1st Grade.

Policies subject to change.