Preparing for Your Field Trip

• $4 per student.
• One teacher free per registered time slot.
• One free chaperone per 10 students*.
• All other adults pay $8.

*Beginning 9/1/2027, our chaperone fees will change. Chaperones paying in the same transaction with their school group will cost $6, chaperones paying individually will pay $8. Due to continuing challenges with calculating free vs paid chaperones, we are simplifying chaperone admission fees.

• The museum never wants you to pay more than you owe! To avoid doing this, please read the information below.
• Payment is due the day of your visit.
• You may pay by credit card, cash or checks made out to "State of Michigan."
• Refunds on payments made in advance or by checks written over the amount due are not possible, we highly recommend paying on the day of your visit, so you only pay for those you bring with you. 
• If you cannot pay on the day of your visit, please contact the museum in advance at mhcinfo@michigan.gov to make arrangements. Arriving on the day of the visit without payment or any arrangements in place cause distress on teachers and staff members and may cause delays to museum entry. We are happy to work with schools who call us before their school arrives on site.
• Do not mail checks. The museum does not have the ability to hold or track payments. Based on how the postal services functions, and that all mail goes through a State of Michigan mail processing system, checks are not timely. You will be asked for payment at admissions if you do not bring one with you.
• Upon arrival, admissions will ask you for student numbers and the total numbers of adults, including teachers. Please do not subtract people you think are free. We do the calculations for free adults after we have your total numbers. When numbers other than the total number of adults are given, proper charges and admission stickers are not processed. 
• Please note that if you come with less students the day of your visit, it may affect the number of free adults you recieve. One adult is free for every 10 students.
• Please claim all your adults and pay in one transaction. Some schools cannot pay for students and chaperones with one payment. We are happy to process two transactions for those schools.
• For those schools who refuse to follow our chaperone payment policy or collect adult payments, your chaperones making individual payments may be asked to step aside for the next school group. We will not delay another classroom of students to process your adults.
• "It's already taken care of." About 99% of the time, when teachers tell us this, no payment has been made on their behalf, and we have no contact from the school at all. To save yourselves stress and the hassle of finding a last-minute payment, ask your school for the museum receipt. An unpaid invoice or proof that a check has been sent is not adequate to confirm payment in our point-of-sale system.

• Invoices are not generated automatically.
• Please email mhcinfo@michigan.gov to request an invoice. 
• Be prepared to provide the name of your school, the date of your visit, the number of time slots you are registered for, the total number of children and the total number of adults, including teachers. Please note if you have any paraprofessionals in your adult numbers. Do not subtract any individuals you think are free, we automatically do those calculations based on total numbers. 

• Walk in the entrance off of Kalamazoo Street (the circle drive) and check in with our staff members. This is the only door that is unlocked for museum visitors, all other entrances are locked.
• We will expedite your arrival, explain our locker system, restroom location and help you connect with admissions to pay your entry fees. 
• Admissions will ask for your student umbers and total numbers of adults, including teachers. Please do not subtract people you think are free from this number. We do the calculations for free adults after we have received your total numbers. When numbers other than the total number of adults given, proper charges and admission stickers are not processed, causing distress for both teachers and staff members.
• If you have children aged five and under, please report this as a separate number. These individuals are free, but they still need to be counted and given a sticker.
• You will be provided with the admission stickers for the number of students and adults reported. Everyone gets a sticker: students, adults, teachers. These stickers are your admission ticket and show our staff and security that you have paid and have access to the museum. Place these stickers on your upper torso. They do not belong on foreheads, sides of arms, waists, legs or other places.

• The museum does not own a parking lot. The parking lot outside of our facility is owned and controlled by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. We cannot open the gate, waive any fees or provide refunds. 
• Buses park for free, the driver should pull up to the gate, and the laser will detect it is a bus and the gate will open. There is a row of bus parking in the lot. 
• Cars park for $5 a day, payable upon entry, with credit card only. Please keep in mind anyone can use this lot, spaces are not reserved for museum visitors. 
• Paying for individual vehicles takes time. The more chaperones that come by car, the longer it is going to take to get into the lot. Please build in extra time for this as your school may not be the only one sending chaperones by car. 
• Buses and cars may not park in the circle drive, that is a no parking zone. Very quick drop off and pick up of students is allowed. If your bus is in the circle drive for more than a few minutes or is blocking other vehicles and handicap spaces, they may be asked to move. 
• The museum is in a downtown city environment. There are many parking options, many are privately owned or owned by the city. If looking for other options during your visit to Lansing, please research before you arrive, as museum staff only know about the State-owned lots around our building and the City of Lansing street parking.

• The museum provides classroom size lockers for each tour time. These are assigned to you upon check in. Please do not help yourself to a locker as staff schedule these for groups based on entry times.
• There are a limited number of lockers. Early classes may not be able to keep their lockers all day and classes coming later in the day may not be able to store their things early depending on how many groups visit before them. Please have a backup plan for storing your belongings.
• Even with our large-size lockers, there isn't always space to store all winter coats. Food and beverages are prioritized for locker spaces as they may not enter the museum. Students may have to carry their coat during their visit.
• We advise leaving backpacks at home or on the bus to save on locker space.
• Please do not leave any valuables in the lockers. The lockers are not locked or secured. The museum is not responsible for any lost or stolen items. 
• Please only use the lockers you are assigned. Placing items in other schools' lockers means they may take your belongings home with them. The museum is not responsible for resolving situations of improper locker use.
• Schools are not required to use lockers. You may leave all food and beverages in your vehicles and carry your coats during your visit.

• Yes, the building has two wheelchairs.
• Wheelchairs are for use in the building only, they cannot be taken to the Capitol or other destinations in Lansing. If you anticipate the need for wheelchair assistance for the rest of your visit to the area, please plan ahead and bring your own.

• The museum has Band-Aids available at the front desk.
• Injuries that occur on State property, in the museum or on the grounds, require an incident report to be completed by security. This report cannot be waived. We appreciate your patience as this process does take a few minutes.
• The museum is ready to assist you in calling emergency services if necessary.
• If a student is sick and needs a place to rest, a sick room is available. An adult from your group must remain with the student at all times. 
• The museum reserves the right to contact emergency services on your behalf if a medical situation looks alarming.

• Yes, we have a museum gift shop! It is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• The store may be able to open earlier or later upon request; however, this request must be made at least a week in advance. Staff members are only committed for their original work schedule. Like all jobs, we must ask staff extend their hours in advance to make this request possible.
• The store does its best to keep prices affordable for students. Unfortunately, we are subject to the same challenges of any retail environment. Higher prices from vendors, higher shipping costs, shipping delays, etc. all affect our costs and therefore our prices.
• Please note that it takes time for students to shop and more time for our staff members and cash registers to process all of the sales. Five minutes is not enough time to get an entire class through the gift shop. To ensure a timely and smooth store visit, please prepare students to shop for items they have enough money for, including sales tax. Students should have their money out of their pockets or bags by the time they reach the register. Chaperone assistance during this process is highly appreciated. 
• Please do not bring large bills. The museum is not a bank and does not have unlimited change available. We reserve the right to decline $50 or $100 bills if there have not been enough cash sales in the registers to make change.
• We have souvenir bags available for schools that don't have time to shop or who want to ensure that their students all get the same items to take home. The bags are $5 each and include a small assortment of goodies (a pin, postcard, pencil and pocket notebook). Please contact mhcinfo@michigan.gov to place an order. Please provide three business days' notice for us to get your souvenir bags ready.

• The museum's restrooms are small. Please leave time in your schedule to get all of your students through the bathroom as it may take awhile. 
• If you are also heading to the Capitol during your trip, please consider using theirs when possible. The Capitol's bathrooms are twice the size of ours. 
• Unfortunately, the museum does not have any family restrooms in public areas. We do, however, have lockable, private restrooms in staff spaces that can be used by visitors who are unable to use the public restrooms. Please ask a staff member for access to these spaces and we will be happy to escort you. You may continue to use them without an escort for the rest of your visit if you are comfortable with their location.