The Central Washington Agricultural Museum offers educational field trips and tours for schools.
Download, fill out and submit the field trip/school tour request form to reserve a date. Scan and email the form to info@centralwaagmuseum.org or mail the form to: CWAM, 4508 Main Street, Union Gap, WA 98903-2138.
You will get a phone call or email confirmation within 5 working days. Your tour is not booked until you receive confirmation from the Museum.
In general we can do any two hour block between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM on any weekday other than Tuesday. All tours must be scheduled around other museum activities. Sometimes the day you request is not available. Wednesday and Thursday are usually the easiest days to schedule, however, if these days do not work call and ask about other arrangements.
We plan the activities at each learning station to take full advantage of your scheduled time at the museum. We ask that groups try to arrive a little early to have a few minutes for the students to have a restroom break before the start time as we believe this results in a better experience for all.
Groups are separated into units of 10 or less to rotate through the learning stations. Our preferred maximum for a group is 100, but with advance notice we can accommodate larger groups. We have no minimum.
No, we do not charge for teachers and chaperones. Please bring at least one adult for every ten children. You are welcome to bring more. Adults will be encouraged to participate and assist with some of the activities.
Yes. Arrangements will be made in advance to merge the groups.
You can update your numbers up to two weeks before your field trip. After that, we have to charge based on actual enrollment, which determines our staffing schedule and the purchasing and preparing of supplies.
If you need to make a change in your reservation we would appreciate hearing from you as soon as possible. We need to have a minimum of two weeks’ notice. We must mobilize several volunteers to do a field trip. We cannot change things quickly.
To get to the Museum please follow the directions given on the hours and location page of our web site. The parking area for the Museum Tours is within Fullbright Park and not on the Museum grounds. Please park near the entry gate and walk to the Barn Façade located at the Museum Entrance.
When you arrive, you will be greeted by a tour guide, preferably before you disembark the bus. If you are not greeted by a guide (for example; you arrive early to have a snack or a picnic) we ask that you send one teacher into the Visitor Center when you arrive to make contact.
Based on the number of students enrolled, we request that you to divide your students into groups prior to arrival. For instance by placing a colored dot on their name tags, and designate a student line-leader for each group. The guide will escort the line-leaders to the entrance of the Visitor Center and position them so the rest of the children can quickly line up behind the line-leader from their color group. Once the students are in line we will make some brief announcements about restroom facilities, safety, eating & drinking, etc., then you will enter the museum grounds and be directed where to go. Each group will receive a numbered sign so that each site will know when all groups have seen their site.
After the introduction we will rotate each group through the learning stations. For example, the Amos Cabin, the Visitor Center, People Wagon Ride and the Keys Homestead and others.
All groups will begin at the gate where they will be separated into units for the learning stations. Ten per adult works well. We can adjust numbers as needed, but each group needs an adult chaperone. Smaller initial groups (homeschools, private schools, etc.) can divide into equal small groups.
The policy is to end at the scheduled time. You should plan on finishing on schedule as the volunteers often have to be elsewhere and cannot stay late to accommodate late arrivals.
Food and beverages (except water in a closed container) are not allowed in the facilities where artifacts are located. We strongly suggest that snacks are eaten before or after the activities. If snacks are consumed prior to the tour this allows kids a few minutes to burn off some excited energy so they can focus during the learning experience.
Attendees will be walking outside throughout the Museum grounds. Please wear suitable shoes. The seasonal weather can be cold and windy; long pants and coats are recommended.
Yes. We have one tram with a wheelchair lift. If you need this accommodation, make those arrangements when booking your tour. If the other wagon or tram is used and a wheel chaired person can be helped from their chair and into the wagon (with minimal effort), they can go on the wagon ride. Most of the Museum areas are wheel chair accessible.
We do our best to accommodate children who have allergies. You may taste homemade wheat breads and natural salted butter. If a student is allergic to any of these items, please do not let them participate in the tasting.
We can also leave wheat or corn grinding out of the learning stations if a child is allergic to these items. Please let us know in advance if a child is allergic, and we will do our best to accommodate them.
Name tags are not required, but are requested. Our instructors would like to call your students by name, and if the students wear name tags the experience is much richer and more pleasant.
No, siblings are not allowed. Since all indoor areas are used there is not an indoor area to "hang out" with a young child.
There are picnic shelters and tables on the Museum grounds that can be used to eat lunch and have snacks. Some of these areas are covered while others are uncovered and exposed to the weather. These are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
We are a separate organization from Union Gap’s Fullbright Park. We do not have access to the Union Gap park reservation system. If you wish to reserve an area in Fullbright Park for a fee, contact: the City of Union Gap at 509-248-0434. The covered picnic areas within the park, if not reserved, can be used free on a drop-in basis.
No. There is no charge for parking within Fullbright Park or the Museum grounds.
Yes. Consider taking your students on a nature hike before or after your tour. The Museum has several trails of varying lengths with opportunities to enjoy the park’s plant and animal life. You can also re-visit areas of the Museum or visit Fullbright Park and go down to Ahtanum Creek.
Your financial support helps keep the museum open and helps preserve the agricultural history of the Yakima Valley.The Museum's operating funds come primarily from membership and memorial donations. Check out our membership page or donation page to help out. Would you like to volunteer to help with exhibits, tours, field trips or other museum activities? Visit our volunteer page to learn more. Questions? Give us a call at 509.457.8735 or email us at info@centralwaagmuseum.org.
