Field Trips and Programs Registration

Field Trips and Programs

About In-Person and Virtual Field Trips

The Howard B. Owens Science Center (HBOSC) staff is dedicated to providing engaging learning experiences that align with the Next Generation Science Standards which enrich and support Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) curricula. We are exempt from Administrative Policy 6153 Administrative Procedure 6153 (See Section H) . If you have any questions, please email howardb.owens@pgcps.org or call 301-918-8750.

Registration will open in the fall. During the 2026-2027 school year, there will be two options for field trips: in-person field trips onsite at the newly renovated Howard B. Owens Science Center or virtual via Zoom. A school bus(es) will need to be arranged by each individual school for in-person trips with transportation once the trip has been scheduled. The school is responsible for scheduling and paying for the bus(es) needed for the trip.

Special Request Programs: Autism and CRI field trips are available by special request. Contact the HBOSC Program Administrator to schedule a trip for your student population.

In-Person Field Trips

In-person field trips will take place on site at the newly renovated Howard. B Owens Science Center. They will be approximately two hours in length, except for a few PreK-K programs that are slightly shorter in length. A brief description of the in-person field trips being offered during each semester is available. To register for an in-person field trip, use one of the registration links to fill out a Google Form. If your group is a NON-PGCPS Organization, please see below for the cost of the field trip per child. PGCPS do not pay a program cost, however the requesting school within PGCPS is required to schedule and pay for their own bus transportation.

Brief Field Trip Descriptions for the year:

Elementary In-Person Field Trip Brief Descriptions (Grades PreK-5)

Middle School In-Person Field Trip Brief Descriptions (Grades 6-8)

High School In-Person Field Trip Brief Descriptions (Grades 9-12)

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Virtual Field Trips

Virtual field trips will take place via Zoom. They will be one hour in length. A brief description of the virtual field trips being offered during each semester is available. To register for a virtual field trip, use one of the registration links to fill out a Google Form. Virtual field trips are currently only available to schools that are part of PGCPS.

Virtual Field Trip Descriptions (Grades K-12)

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PGCPS Bus Information

What do I do now that I have a date for my field trip?

You will need to contact the PGCPS bus lot, or other private bus company, and arrange for the bus(es) needed for your trip once you have recieved a date from HBOSC. Keep in mind, the pick-up time for a PGCPS bus is 9:30 a.m. HBOSC field trips are scheduled from 10:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

To schedule your bus (es) you can use the PGCPS Bus Field Trip Request Form.

How do I calculate the cost of a PGCPS School Bus?

BUS FEES: To calculate the cost of ONE PGCPS bus, the length of the field trip and travel time are added together and then multiplied by the cost of the bus per hour ($106.00/hour). Most field trips are two hours in length and include about two hours of travel time to and from the science center. Travel time also includes the time of the bus traveling to and from the bus lot to the requesting school.

Example: 2 hour program + 1 hour travel time to the Science Center + 1 hour travel time back to school/bus lot = 4 hours of bus time. (4 hours of bus time x $106.00/hr= $424 for a field trip)

Schools may also choose to use private buses and calculate the rate as provided by the private company.

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Fee Schedule for Non- PGCPS Organizations

All Non-PGCPS Organizations including home-schools, private schools out of county and out of state schools, can submit a request for in-person field trips held out our newly renovated science center. All Non-PGCPS Organizations must pay a program fee for each student attending. The price for all Non-PGCPS Organizations to attend an in-person field trip is $6.00 per student attending. The price is the same for all in-person field trips regardless of the length of time of the trip.