Brookfield Zoo doesn’t have a discount for individual teachers, but if you bring a registered Illinois school class, you and your students get in free on weekdays during the school year. Parking and attractions still cost extra, and bus parking is $25 per bus.
If you teach outside Illinois, or you’re going on a weekend with your own kids, the deal is different. Each case is below, starting with the free field trip.
How To Get The Brookfield Zoo Teacher Discount
- Register your class online on the Brookfield Zoo field trips page. Reserve at least 10 business days before your visit.
- Pick a weekday between Labor Day and Memorial Day. Admission is free for the students and for the adult chaperones, teachers included.
- Check your confirmation email. It explains how to pay for parking and how to buy attraction tickets if you want them.
Parking is the part to budget for. Buses pay $25 each, and cars and vans pay $17 each in the North Lot. On Field Trip Incentive Days, which fall on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during part of the school year, schools with a reserved trip park free.
Which Groups Get In Free
Public and private schools in Illinois qualify, and so do Head Start programs listed with the Illinois Head Start Association and Illinois college groups. Illinois home school groups of ten or more children get in free too, the same as any Illinois school group. You’ll upload proof of your home school status when you register, and any legitimate documentation works.
An Illinois independent school that isn’t registered with the state can still register. The application asks for a photo of a teacher or school ID and the school’s website.
If You’re Coming From Out Of State
Out-of-state groups, summer camps and daycare or Pre-K programs that aren’t state-registered don’t get free admission. They get a discounted group rate when 20 or more visitors pay. Group tickets are $22.95 for adults, $18.95 for seniors 65 and over and $15.95 for children 3 to 11, and they have to be bought online. Group tickets bought at the gate are full price.
Teaching Safari And Free Online Classes
Teaching Safari is the zoo’s professional development program for K-12 educators in any subject. You earn 35 free PD hours or 2 free semester hours from Dominican University. It’s four full-day sessions at the zoo plus two 60-minute virtual sessions, and you write and revise a lesson plan along the way. The zoo also runs free online classes on conservation and nature to get your students ready before a field trip.
Visiting On Your Own
On a day off with your own family, you pay regular admission, since there’s no educator rate. A few other routes might fit you. The zoo gives free admission to active, reservist and veteran military. Chicago Public Library cardholders can check out a pass with four free general admission tickets. Members get free admission and free parking. On the zoo’s Free Days, parking and attraction fees still apply.
Q&A
Is there a teacher discount at Brookfield Zoo?
Not for individual teachers. Teachers on a registered Illinois school field trip get in free as chaperones.
Are teachers free on a school field trip?
Yes. Admission for children and chaperones, teachers included, is free for reserved Illinois schools on weekdays between Labor Day and Memorial Day.
I teach outside Illinois. What do I get?
A discounted group rate when 20 or more visitors pay, not free admission.
Is parking free on a field trip?
No. Buses pay $25 and cars and vans pay $17 in the North Lot, unless your trip falls on a Field Trip Incentive Day.
Do home school groups qualify?
Yes, Illinois groups of ten or more home-schooled children get in free. You’ll need to show proof of your home school status.
Is Teaching Safari free?
It earns you 35 free PD hours or 2 free semester hours from Dominican University, and it’s open to K-12 educators in all subject areas.
More Information:
Details are on the zoo’s field trips page, group ticket sales page, professional development page and discounts and free days page. See more entertainment discounts for teachers, and check the total before you pay.