Frequently Asked Questions

The Albuquerque Public School district covers the transportation costs for all 5th graders attending APS schools (including APS charter schools) to visit the SMNHC.

If your school is not part of APS or is an APS charter school, you will need to fund your transportation. Your school may be eligible for grant funding. Please work with Paul at paul.mauermann@dca.nm.gov to discuss your eligibility.

If you are at an APS school, we schedule the buses for you (based on your school start/end times) and will let you know your arrival and departure times.

If you are a non-APS school, you arrange times with the bus company, based on your school start & end times and bus availability. Please schedule arrival time for between 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. and departure time between 1 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Time on-site should be 4 - 4.5 hours if possible (and no more than 4.5). You will need to confirm your arrival and departure times with us by contacting Maggie Price at margaret.price@aps.edu or (505) 281-5259 x0.

Chaperones driving separately from buses should arrive on time, and not more than 15 minutes early, and need to depart on time with buses.

Parent chaperones are welcome and encouraged, but not required. Your school staff (including classroom teachers) and our instructional staff and volunteers all count toward the APS chaperone recommendation of 1 adult per 7 students. Please try not to exceed more than 1 chaperone for every 5 students.

Remember, chaperones are considered school volunteers and must have completed a background check.

Yes, the SMNHC has plenty of visitor parking.

Additional family members or guests are not permitted. Only registered 5th grade students, official chaperones, and school staff may attend.

No pets are permitted at the SMNHC. Trained service animals are allowed.

Our hikes are 1.5- 2 miles long, and we are out on the trail for 2-3 hours. Trails include rough, rocky terrain; steep inclines and declines, and up to a 600-foot change in elevation. Please be sure all chaperones are aware of this before deciding to come.

Absolutely! We have wheelchair-accessible trails, outdoor classrooms, picnic areas, bathrooms, and a viewing platform.

We accommodate all students so that they may take part in as much of the program as possible with their classmates.

For portions of the day, while their class finishes hiking on a non-accessible portion of the trail, students with mobility or health concerns may backtrack and meet them in an accessible location, or return to the buildings with an aide to visit our on-site museum.

On an average sunny day, temperatures in Cedar Crest are 5-10° F lower than in Albuquerque. During cloudy or adverse weather conditions, we can be 10-15 °F cooler. It may be raining, snowing, or windy in the mountains while conditions are calmer in the city.

Please check Cedar Crest weather conditions before coming, and prepare with appropriate attire and layers that can be added or removed.

The Ecology Field Program is an outdoor program. All or most of the time, activities will take place outside, even when weather conditions are less than ideal. Everyone should come prepared and appropriately dressed for the weather (coat, extra layers, hat, gloves, warm socks, appropriate shoes, etc.). If needed, we may alter the program by doing portions indoors and going outside for shorter spans at a time, but we will not do a fully indoor program.

If a cancellation or 2-hour delay is issued for APS East Mountain Schools, our program is canceled for the day.

Otherwise, we attempt to still carry out the program, using indoor spaces for portions as needed. In rare cases, if unsafe weather or road conditions arise, a program may need to be cut short, or cancellation may be discussed with teachers and school staff, allowing them to decide.

Email margaret.price@aps.edu to see whether we are currently offering virtual programs, and what availability we have.

We need these responses in order to ensure that your class receives a program that best suits their needs. It is also vital so that we can get you assigned to an SMNHC instructor and they can go over any additional pre-trip information with you. Please fill it out completely when we email it to you.

As long as you complete your pre-trip survey in a timely manner, your SMNHC instructor will reach out to you about a week prior to your scheduled VFE.

In your two-week reminder email, we ask you to have your class complete the pre-trip student assignment and activity lesson plan instructions before your program. This will make the VFE much more engaging!

The VFE is 2 hours long. When you fill out your pre-trip survey, we ask which times work best for you.

Yes! We have a lot of content available for you to utilize. 

Browse our Curriculum and Activities page for all the options! We have virtual video lessons, activity worksheets, and full curriculums.

You can also email the SNMHC instructor that was assigned to your class and they can suggest specific activities for you to do with your students.