Popular Arts Engage Students in Rigorous Learning at Every Level
At Comic-Con Museum, we take playful learning seriously! Whether it’s literacy learning in our Comics Creation program, STEAM learning in our makerspace, or a custom field trip specifically tailored to your class’s learning objectives, our team of professional educators are ready to collaborate with you and your students.
FIELD TRIPS
Request a PAID field trip to Comic-Con Museum
We schedule field trips on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays year-round, with educational and custom program options available from September through June. We also schedule limited trips (up to 40 students) on Saturdays for community groups year-round. See our field trip pricing and options below.
| Field Trip Option | Student Price | Availability | |
| Self-Guided Field Trip (capacity 150 students/day) | $10.00 (15.00 summer peak) | Year-round | |
| Self-Guided Field Trip + Education Program: Comics Creation (capacity 120 students/day) | $15.00 | September 1-June 30 | |
| Self-Guided Field Trip + Education Program: STEAM makerspace (capacity 120 students/day) | $15.00 | September 1–June 30 | |
| Self-Guided Field Trip + Two Education Programs: Comics Creation + STEAM makerspace (capacity 120 students/day) | $20.00 | September 1–June 30 | |
| Custom Field Trip (capacity 80 students/day) | $40.00 | September 1–June 30 |
Chaperone Policy:
All field trips require responsible, adult chaperones at the following ratios:
- Grades PK–2: one chaperone for every five students
- Grades 3–16: one chaperone for every ten students
- Camp and community groups: one chaperone for every eight students
Required chaperones are admitted free of charge. Extra adult chaperones pay the posted adult entrance fee. Link to ticketing page.
For more information about our field trip policies, see our current Field Trip FAQ document.
FIELD TRIP DESCRIPTIONS
Self-Guided Field Trip
In this field trip, students will focus mainly on learning and interacting with the museum exhibits. Students may choose to use our free scavenger hunt during their visit (subject to availability). Self-guided trips may occur anytime during our posted open hours [link to hours information page], and may include up to 150 students per trip.
CA State Standards Addressed:
On a self-guided field trip, the explicit instructional design is up to the educator. However, our museum exhibits are great for teaching into the following disciplinary areas:
CA K–12 State Standards in Visual and Performing Arts [Link: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/vp/]
CA K–12 State Standards in Science (Next Generation Science Standards) [Link: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/pl/ngssstandards.asp]CA K–12 State Standards in Literacy [Link: https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/finalelaccssstandards.pdf]
Self-Guided Field Trip + Education Program: Comics Creation and STEAM makerspace
Interested in Guided Instruction through Popular Arts Learning? Add one (or both!) of our Education Programs to your self-guided trip:
Comics Creation: In this workshop, students leave with basic understanding of comics and making sequential art, which they will use to begin a comic of their own. Playful approaches to visual art creation empower all learners to tell stories using pictures, words, and sequence. We hope to inspire the next generation of Eisner Award winners!
K–12 State Standards addressed: Our Comics Creation Education Programs address California State Standards in Literacy, Media Arts, and Visual Arts.
STEAM makerspace: In this workshop, students join the ranks of fans and professionals who use design cycles to make magic in the popular arts. Students might find themselves creating a 2D or 3D cardboard sculpture that lights up, completing a popular arts–themed robotics challenge, using our tech tools to create stop-motion animations and more! Our STEAM makerspace programs are hands-on, project-based learning opportunities which apprentice students into the technical, design-based aspects of the popular-arts industries.
K–12 State Standards addressed: Our STEAM makerspace Education Programs address California State Standards in Science (Next Generation Science Standards) and Media Arts
Custom Field Trip
At Comic-Con Museum, we are passionate about educational innovation. We know that the strength of our education program is measured by how well it serves our wider learning community in San Diego County and beyond.
To meet the needs of our students, our first-of-it’s-kind custom field trip program pairs classroom educators with our professional staff educators to co-design an educational experience tailored to the learning objectives of your students. Got a comics project you’d like us to enhance? Making tabletop games with your students? Studying special effects in science fiction and film? Let’s get together and collaborate for the benefit of our students!
K–12 State Standards addressed: Our custom field trips can address any of the CA State Standards.
Custom Field Trip Process:
- Request and schedule your custom field trip using our Field Trip Request Form.
- After receiving your field trip date and confirmation by email, agree to a 30-min planning zoom with a Comic-Con Museum Educator.
- Review and provide constructive feedback on the Custom Field Trip plan drafted by the Comic-Con Museum Education team at least two weeks prior to your visit.
- Take your trip!
- Provide feedback on your trip via email to the Comic-Con Museum Education team within two weeks after your visit.
- Schedule your custom trip year after year!
Title One Schools: See our Education Access Program Field Trips here.
EDUCATOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Comic-Con Museum seeks to lead popular-arts learning in our community. We offer a variety of professional development workshops for practicing educators, administrators, and educational stakeholders.
- Professional Development Workshops
- Tabletop Game Design: In this workshop, adult learners collaborate with colleagues to conceptualize, design, prototype, test, iterate, and reflect on a tabletop game.
- Professional Learning Outcomes:
- Deeper understanding of the role of academic language and compromise in interest-driven, project-based learning
- Content knowledge of multimodal storytelling and games as systems
- Pedagogical knowledge related to curriculum design for productive failure, constructive feedback, and authentic assessment
- Professional Learning Outcomes:
Comics, Multimodal Literacies, and Non-Normative Texts in the Classroom: In this workshop, adult learners examine the affordances, rationale, and methods for incorporating popular-arts texts into their classrooms.
- Professional Learning Outcomes:
- Content knowledge of popular-arts literacies
- Pedagogical knowledge of multimodal texts and their learning affordances
- Comics and graphic novels as multimodal texts which support deep comprehension and analysis
- Textual consumption, analysis, and production as authentic literate practices that extend beyond our academic environments into civic participation
Robotics: In this workshop, adult learners will undertake a robotics design challenge using our Spheros, Ozobots, Brushbots, Scribble Bots, and more!
- Professional Learning Outcomes:
- Pedagogical content knowledge of design cycles and project-based learning
- Content knowledge in robotics and beginner-level coding and programming
- Arts integration
- Custom Workshop: Looking for professional learning related to the popular arts but don’t see what you need? Get in touch with Dr. Emily Schindler to explore your options at education@comic-con.org.
Custom Workshop: Looking for professional learning related to the popular arts but don’t see what you need? Get in touch with Dr. Emily Schindler to explore your options at education@comic-con.org.
To partner with our educational community, we also offer Education Facility Rentals at a deeply discounted rate for educator offsite meetings. To qualify for this discount, meetings must be held during our regular business hours (including setup and tear down) and attendees must be practicing educators. Education facility rentals are welcome to carry in food, but meetings requiring a caterer must go through our regular event rental program. For more information or to request an education facility rental, contact education@comic-con.org.
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