Let Us Bring the Museum to You—Van Go!
The mobile Sacramento Children’s Museum is a school outreach program where Museum educators come to your school and transform your classroom or multipurpose room into a mini museum. Each session begins with a brief introductory lesson followed by exploration and play time at several hands-on activity stations. Please see each program description for the recommended grade level.
NOTE: Van Go is fully booked for the 2024/2025 school year and is taking a break for the summer. Reservations for the 2025/2026 school year will be available in August.
Reservation Information
For the 2025-2026 school year, Van Gos can be scheduled on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Each session is approximately 1 hour long, and we can accommodate up to 28 students per session.
- Only Building & Engineering and Mission: Imagination Challenge can accommodate extra students.
A fee of $7 per student will apply for any additional students, up to a maximum of 10. Please state how many extra students you have in the notes of your reservation or through email.
We allow up to 4 sessions in one day with these policies:
We are legally required to take a 30-minute lunch break after the second session (this is only required if you are scheduling 3-4 sessions). No exceptions.
- We prefer to be set up in one classroom, the Multi-Purpose room, or the Library for all sessions to decrease set-up and take-down times. However, if those options are not possible, please let us know.
- If you are scheduling for any time after 10 am, we ask that there is a parking spot reserved for us to make unloading easier
Pricing
1 session (60 minutes) – $350
- $250 for any additional sessions (up to 4)
- 2 sessions- $600
- 3 sessions-$850
- 4 sessions- $1,100
We require travel fees for any schools, libraries, after-school programs, and day-care centers that are 25 miles greater from the museum. It is $1 for any additional mile over 25 miles.
We do not offer Title I discounts at this time.
Payment
- Payment is required 30 days after the invoice has been sent to secure your reservation.
- Payments can be mailed in before the visit, paid over the phone, or collected on the date of the school visit.
- If your school is not able to pay before the visit, please contact vango@sackids.org before the visit.
- If you do not pay within one month of our visit, we will not schedule any future visits to your school until that payment is received. Additionally, any future payments will need to be paid prior to our next visit.
Cancellation & Refund Policy
Refund requests made up to 7 days prior to the reservation date will be subject to a $25 processing fee. Refund requests made less than 7 days prior to the reservation will be subject to a $50 processing fee. No refunds will be issued for requests made less than 48 hours prior to the reservation date. You may request that the original reservation be rescheduled to a future available date at no charge.
Programs for Kids TK-3
Click on each section below for additional program details!
Building & Engineering
Recommended for Kinder-2nd Grade
Design, build, test, and tinker! Students will immerse themselves in the engineering design process while working with various large- and small-scale building materials. The program activities include:
- Take-home Parachute Craft
- Giant Magnet Panels
- Rigamajig Building Kit
- Tower Challenge
Color Lab
Recommended for TK-Kinder
Play with color! Students will explore primary and secondary colors through play, experimentation, and art. The program activities include:
- Test Tube Color Mixing
- Take-home Color Wheel Collage
- Pom Pom Sort Sensory Bin
- Light Tables
- Colors in Motion Wind Tunnel
Emotions at Play
Recommended for TK-2nd during the Fall
Come on an epic SEL journey as an emotion explorer! Students will practice skills to identify different emotions through interactive activities curated for specific grade levels. The program activities include:
- All grade levels
- Mood music
- Emotional Baggage Jenga
- Wind Tunnel
- TK-Kinder
- Kindness chain
- Take-home Create a Scribble
- 1st-2nd
- Zones of Regulation Match Game
- Take-home Pom Pom Scribble
Mission: Imagination Challenge
Recommended for 1st-2nd
Your mission, if you choose to accept…is to work with a team to solve a challenge using the supplies in a mystery box.
Students collaborate with teammates and use the engineering design process to create an invention from recycled materials. Once they are finished, the teams present their creation to the rest of their class. Depending on the teacher’s preference, the inventions can stay in the classroom or be returned and reused at the museum.
Reactions in Action
Recommended for 1st-2nd
Become a scientist and observe reactions in action! Students will use the scientific method to
learn about physical and chemical reactions through hands-on STEM activities. The program
activities include:
- A Guided Elephant Toothpaste Demo
- Catapult Launchers
- Magic with Magnets
- Take-home Flying Machines
- Mix-it-up Lab
Tap Into Sound
Recommended for TK-1st
Get ready for a boisterous session of hands-on exploration of sound and music! Students will learn introductory musical terms such as tempo and dynamics by playing a variety of instruments. The program activities include:
- A Guided 30-minute Percussion Instrument Sing-along
- Instrument Exploration
- Take-home Sound Bracelets
- Wind Tunnel with Bell Scarves
- Draw the Beat