As of 2024, Aztec Ruins is now offering Ranger-led curriculum-based 2nd, 4th, and 7th grade programs. Please email AZRU_Education@nps.gov to reserve your program and receive a pre-visit worksheet.
Self-Guided Field Trip:
Field trips are always welcome at Aztec Ruins. Self-guided field trips are entirely teacher-led, but Aztec Ruins can assist with educational resources to be used during your visit here.
What's Here:
Aztec Ruins National Monument is the keeper of an ancestral Pueblo great house, standing three stories tall with over 400 rooms. The central plaza features a reconstructed Great Kiva.
The Visitor Center has museum exhibits and a 15-minute park film. The bathrooms are located on the front porch of the Visitor Center, and any educational materials pre-arranged for field trip checkout (traveling trunks, teacher-trail guides, etc) will be waiting on the back porch.
Field Trip Scheduling:
If you're interested in bringing your class to the park, please email AZRU_Education@nps.gov specifying the grade level of your class and a general date of the field trip. Our Education Coordinator will reply to your email and work with you directly to get your class scheduled.
Logistics:
There is a bus unloading area, and bus parking. We request that teachers have one adult/chaperon for every ten students. Two hours is usually enough time for the visit itself (for 1-3 classrooms); more time should be scheduled for lunch in the picnic area. The video room can accommodate a maximum of 30 students and the video plays every half hour. Teachers and chaperons are responsible for directing their groups during the visit.
Recommended Activities for Group Rotations
- 45 minutes on the trail: Take a teacher-guided tour of the archeological site with chaperons using the trail guide. Several types of trail guides are available for different age ranges.
- 45 minutes in the Visitor Center: Watch the 15 minute video, tour the museum (new I-Spy activity available), and take a bathroom break.
- 45 minutes in the picnic area: a teacher-guided educational activity
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- Replica Artifact activity (reserve a traveling trunk)
- Walk the Old Spanish Trail (1/4 mile one-way)
- Old Spanish Trail activity (reserve a traveling trunk for replica items)
- Check out the Education Portal for lesson plans from related sites
Last updated: February 24, 2024