ATTENTION: PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE WEBPAGE BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH BOOKING A FIELD TRIP.
Field Trip Experiences
From September through early June, the Orange Coast College Planetarium offers engaging and educational field trip experiences for K–12 schools across Southern California. Our programs are designed to align with grade-level science standards and inspire curiosity about astronomy and space science through immersive full-dome shows and interactive presentations.
Whether you're introducing your students to the night sky for the first time or deepening their understanding of the solar system, our field trips provide a memorable and enriching experience for learners of all ages.
Field Trip Description
Field trips last approximately 1 hour 30 minutes. We start off in the lobby where we talk about how Astronomers study space and we discuss our various exhibits. Currently, we have a fascinating collection of meteorites, Orange County’s only Foucault pendulum, and NOAA Science on a Sphere. Next we take the students into our 50-foot dome theater where we begin with a pre-show that is based on the main theme of the feature film they are seeing. Please see our show library for a list of available shows and their NGSS codes. After the conclusion of the film, we do a tour through the constellations that can be seen on the night of their visit, and finally, a brief Q&A session with one of our Astronomy students. Our field trips are mostly run by current OCC students!
Note: Field trips for our youngest visiting Astronomers may last one hour or less.
Aquarium and Aquaponics Add-On
We are excited to offer aquarium and aquaponics tours in partnership with OCC’s Dennis Kelly Aquarium! Tours highlight our diverse exhibits that are meant to replicate a variety of different habitats ranging from local marine communities, tropical reefs, freshwater planted systems, and stock restoration projects. The aquarium even features a touch tank!* Aquaponics is a food production system that couples aquaculture (raising aquatic animals in tanks) with hydrophonics (cultivating plants in water) whereby the nutrient-rich aquaculture water is fed to hydroponically grown plants. The plants we grow are used by our culinary department and can be purchased by the community during our plant sales!
Tours are fully run by student aquarium managers and last approximately an hour and 30 minutes. This add-on is only available most Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
If you are interested in only visiting the aquarium and aquaponics, and not the Planetarium, please choose the appropriate option on the field trip request form. The aquarium and aquaponics availability is the same as what's listed on the field trip availability calendar at the bottom of this page.
* The touch tank may not be available due to unforeseen circumstances.
Group Size
Our theater holds a maximum of 124 guests, therefore the maximum number of students we can accommodate is 113, with 11 teachers/chaperones. If your group exceeds this, a second field trip booking will be required. We require a ratio of at least 1 teacher/chaperone for every 10 students. All adults on the field trip are required to act as chaperones.
Although our field trips are automatically private, in previous years our field trips have sold out in early February. If you're open to sharing your field trip with another school to allow greater access to students, we have a special promotional offer! If another school joins yours or you join another school, the minimum flat fee will go from 50 students to 30 students**. For a private school, that is a $200 discount!
For the aquarium add-on, we can accommodate the same number of guests as the Planetarium, but your group might be broken up into smaller groups.
** This discount is subject to availability and applies only when two or more groups are booked simultaneously. Please not that the discount cannot be applied after payment has been made.
Fees & Payment
All Planetarium field trips have a minimum flat fee that includes up to 50 students/people. For groups larger than 50, there is an additional charge for each student and/or teacher/chaperone/non-students/family members. We include 1 free chaperone for every 10 students.
The fees are:
- Traditional in-person public or public charter schools (For independent study schools, see homeschool pricing)
- Minimum fee: $350 (includes 50 people)
- $7 per extra student
- $10 per extra adult/non-students/family members
- Title I schools with free or reduced lunch percentages >60%
- Minimum fee: $200 (includes 50 people)
- $4 per extra student
- $10 per extra adult/non-students/family members
- Private and homeschools
- Minimum fee: $500 (includes 50 people)
- $10 per extra student
- $14 per extra adult/non-students/family members
- Adult Groups
- Minimum fee: $700 (includes 50 people)
- $14 per extra person
Planetarium and Aquarium tours are priced the same, therefore if you are a traditional in-person public school and you wish to book both the Planetarium and Aquarium for your field trip, the cost would be $14/student. At the moment, the Title I discount is not available for Aquarium tours, however, we hope to be able to include them in the future.
The invoice must be paid in full before or on the day of the field trip, at the time you arrive. We accept checks payable to “Orange Coast College Planetarium” (if mailed before the field trip, be sure to label it to the attention of Jessica Artinger), credit cards (Visa, MasterCard), or cash if submitted in a single payment (it is not feasible for us to collect individually from each member of your group). No deposit is required to reserve a field trip. If you anticipate changes to your participant count, please wait to submit payment until your final numbers are confirmed.
Cancellations & Invoice Changes
Student Behavior
Availability & Schedule
Field trips are available from early September through June 5, 2026. For availability, please see the calendar at the bottom of this page. Please have two dates selected before filling out the Field Trip Request Form.
We are currently only booking field trips through December. Please check back in August for information about booking dates in 2026.
Groups should not arrive more than 10 minutes before their scheduled field trip time.
Confirmations
An email will be sent to the contact person listed on the Field Trip Request Form. They will receive a contract, an invoice, general information sheet, and campus map within 5 business days of filling out the form. A field trip is only fully confirmed once the contact person responds with the signed contract indicating their confirmation of the rules and receipt of their invoice within two weeks of the email being sent. If the field trip is not confirmed, the field trip will be canceled and the date will be made available to other groups. Groups should arrive at the Planetarium no earlier than 10 minutes before the start of their field trip time slot.
Parking
- We recommend using Lot E off Merrimac Way. Please use Google Maps only and search "OCC Lot E" to find the exact place to park. The Planetarium is located between the Lewis Center for Applied Sciences and the Library. Parking on-campus is $5 and virtual parking permits can be purchased through the Passport Parking app or website. The parking permit is linked to your car's license plate number. Be aware that this is a digital parking pass. Lot E Lot Number: 92847
- The bus drop-off area is in Lot E off Merrimac Way along the curb in front of the Lewis Center for Applied Science. Buses plated with a CA Exempt plate do not need a parking permit. Private charter buses do need to purchase a parking permit. We recommend parking the buses at the Fairgrounds Lot at the intersection of Arlington Road and Fairview Road.
Gift Shop
Title I School Field Trips
Field Trip Availability
Please note that an event on the calendar indicates that time and date are available.
To Reserve a Field Trip
Please reserve your field trip two weeks or more in advance to ensure preferred date and time. Please use the Field Trip Request Form, and allow 5 business days for a response.
Spring field trips for 2026 open in August.
