Discovery World in Milwaukee doesn’t list a discount for individual teachers. What it lists is group pricing: DPI certified K-12 schools pay $9 per student during the academic school year, one adult is free for every 10 students, and the group visits page says homeschools may qualify for the school rate with a PI-1206 form.
If you’re planning a field trip, the sections below walk through the booking steps and the deadlines that cost groups money. If you’re heading over on a weekend with your own kids, the section on visiting on your own covers the savings the ticket page lists.
How To Get The Discovery World Teacher Discount
There isn’t a teacher discount to claim at the admissions desk, so the lower price comes through a group booking. The page lists four requirements for group rates: a group of at least 10 paying people, a reservation at least three weeks in advance, required items submitted by your designated deadline, and full payment by check or credit card by that deadline. It adds that availability is first come, first served.
You request a visit with the form on the group page. The Reservations Department is at 414-765-8625 or reservations@discoveryworld.org, Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:00pm, and the page says a staff member reaches out with more details once your request is in.
What A School Group Pays
For DPI certified K-12 schools, the academic-year rate is $9 per student. The page asks for one adult for every 10 students, and those required adults are free. Any additional adults are $11. Homeschools may qualify for school group rates, with a PI-1206 form required.
Other groups pay more. The page lists daycares, CLCs, summer camps, non-profits, colleges, universities, recreation centers, senior groups, travel groups and educational services providers as non-schools, at $11 per child, with one required adult free for every 10 children and $15 for additional adults.
What To Know Before You Book
The two-week mark is the one that costs money. Full payment, your final headcount and the signed agreement are due two weeks before the visit, and the page says anyone not included and paid for by then pays full-price general admission of $21 per child and $25 per adult. Those people also can’t join scheduled lunch periods or programs, and the page says day-of walk-up payments and walk-up additions aren’t accepted at the discounted school or group rates. Discovery World reserves the right to cancel your visit if the payment, headcount or signed agreement isn’t in by then.
Changes follow the same deadline. Any request to change, reschedule or cancel has to be made two weeks before your visit date, and after that the page says requests won’t be accepted and no refunds or credits are given. Groups aren’t penalized for cancellations because of school or organizational weather closures. Group rates and programs also aren’t valid with memberships or any other discount or promotion, and groups can’t use membership benefits toward a group visit.
On lunch, tell the Reservations team when you book if you want to eat onsite. Lunch periods are 25 minutes long and pre-assigned, and groups bring packed lunches because there’s no catering, microwave use or refrigeration. Groups that don’t follow the lunch packing and clean-up requirements are invoiced a $50 service fee. For buses, the page says there’s no bus parking onsite. The closest free bus parking is at Veterans Park, about 10-15 minutes away on foot, and buses can’t park in the Discovery World or Milwaukee Art Museum lots. The address is 500 N Harbor Dr, Milwaukee, WI 53202.
Add An Educational Program
You can add an educator-led program to your visit for an additional fee. The page describes projects, tools and demonstrations in science, technology or engineering, with options for grades K5-12. Advance reservations are required, time slots are pre-assigned, and there’s a 10 student minimum for tour and lab programs and a 20 minimum for STEAM Career Exploration Presentations. The page limits these programs to certain months, on weekdays when the museum is open to the public, so check it before you plan around one.
Visiting On Your Own
The buy tickets page says full-price general admission is discounted when you buy through the website, and that dynamic admission pricing applies on days with greater demand. The group page names $21 per child and $25 per adult as full-price general admission. Members receive unlimited admission all year round.
Access Admission is $7 per person for up to five people. To qualify you must be a Wisconsin resident who participates in Wisconsin Works, WIC, My WI Childcare, Wisconsin Quest, FoodShare, BadgerCare or Medicaid, and you present a Wisconsin EBT card with a valid ID at the Admissions Desk, where it’s only available in person. Through the ASTC Travel Passport Program, members of participating museums get reciprocal free admission for up to two named adult cardholders and children 17 and under from the same household, as long as that museum and your home are both more than 90 miles away. The seasonal Blue Star Museum Discount gives active duty military personnel and up to five family members free admission from Armed Forces Day to Labor Day.
What We Couldn’t Confirm
We didn’t find a teacher ID or pay stub discount on the group visits or buy tickets pages, and the school rate needs a group of at least 10 paying people, so it doesn’t help a teacher visiting alone. The page doesn’t print the cost of the educational programs beyond saying additional fees apply, how much you save by buying online, or what the PI-1206 form asks of a homeschool group beyond saying homeschools may qualify.
Q&A
Is there a teacher discount at Discovery World?
We couldn’t find one for individual teachers. The pages list school group rates and a few other ways to save, none of which is a teacher ID discount.
What does a school group pay?
DPI certified K-12 schools pay $9 per student during the academic school year. One adult for every 10 students is free, and additional adults are $11.
How big does a group need to be?
At least 10 paying people, booked at least three weeks in advance.
Can a homeschool group get the school rate?
The page says homeschools may qualify for school group rates, and that a PI-1206 form is required.
When are payment and headcount due?
Two weeks before your visit date. People added after that pay $21 per child and $25 per adult, and can’t join lunch periods or programs.
Where do buses park?
There’s no bus parking onsite. The page names Veterans Park as the closest free option, about 10-15 minutes away on foot.
Can my class eat lunch there?
Yes, if you tell the Reservations team when you book. Groups bring packed lunches, and there’s no catering, microwave use or refrigeration.
More Information:
The details above come from Discovery World’s own pages as they loaded when we checked, and prices and programs change without notice. See more entertainment discounts for teachers.