Learning is Wild Scholarship

LEARNING IS WILD SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM APPLICATION

The Learning is Wild Scholarship is made possible by The Southard Family.

This form must be completed at least three weeks prior to your anticipated visit.

Please note, if your school is in Franklin County with a free and reduced lunch population of 50% or higher, you may qualify for free student admission, September 14, 2026 through April, 2027. If you will be using the free admission tickets, please do not apply for the scholarship. To see if your school qualifies, please email schools@columbuszoo.org.

Please complete one application per field trip request date. Your school may only be awarded a scholarship for a maximum of two trips per school year.

School Contact Information

School Name

School Street Address

School City

School State

School Zip Code

School County

School District

School Phone Number

Alternative Phone Number

Contact Person

Contact's Email

Would you like e-mail updates about the Zoo's Education programs?

Choose Your Field Trip Date

Please Note: This form does not guarantee a reservation. We must contact you to confirm details. September 14, 2026-December 11, 2026; January 1, 2027-May 20, 2027 only. We do not provide funding for dates outside of this time frame.

Desired Date

Tell Us About Your Group

Estimated Number of Students Participating

Grade Level(s)

Estimated Number of Chaperones

Please include this number in the total count below

What was the date of your school's last field trip to the Zoo?

Calculate the Admission Fee

Schools RECEIVING THE LEARNING IS WILD SCHOLARSHIP will pay the following admission rates.

Franklin County: $1.50/person
Outside of Franklin County: $2.00/person

Total Number of People _______ x Fee Per Person ($1.50/person or $2.00/person) =

Amount School will pay for Admission ($)

Total School Admission Fee ($)

Transportation

The Learning is Wild Scholarship will pay a MAXIMUM of $300 towards transportation PER SCHOOL PER SCHOOL YEAR.

Applicants who receive transportation funds are required to submit proof of payment for their transportation by the designated due date.

Transportation Reimbursement Due Dates: Field trips September 14 -December 11 must submit paid invoice by December 11.
Field trips January 1 - May 20 must submit paid invoice by June 11.

The Zoo will not pay the transportation company directly for bussing. Once the Zoo receives the paid invoice, the Zoo will reimburse the school for the amount listed in the Scholarship Award Agreement or 75% of the submitted invoice (whichever is a lesser amount).

Total Number of Busses

Fee Per Bus ($)

Total Transportation Fee ($)

We are requesting funding support for transportation to the Zoo ($)

This amount cannot exceed 75% of the total transportation fees. The Zoo will pay a maximum of $300 toward transportation PER SCHOOL PER SCHOOL YEAR.

Schools are responsible for all transportation fees which are not covered by the Learning is Wild Scholarship.

STEP 1: Transportation Fees

STEP 2: Requested Funds

Total School Transportation Fee

(Step 1 minus Step 2)

Determine Overall Cost to Your School

STEP 1: Total School Admission Fee

STEP 2: Total School Transportation Fee

Overall Cost to your School

(Step 1 plus Step 2)

Statement of Need

You must complete the following three sections to be considered for funding.

List your school's Free and Reduced Lunch Percentage

One file only.
100 MB limit.
Allowed types: txt, rtf, pdf, doc, docx, odt, ppt, pptx, odp, xls, xlsx, ods.

* Please attach a document with your school’s need for funding. Be sure to include information, such as participation in government assistance programs (Free and Reduced Lunch Program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Title 1), your school’s budget, and/or other indicators of financial need.

* Please attach a document with a statement detailing how a Columbus Zoo field trip will be incorporated into the classroom experience to educationally impact the participants.
One file only.
100 MB limit.
Allowed types: txt, rtf, pdf, doc, docx, odt, ppt, pptx, odp, xls, xlsx, ods.

Applicant Agreement

Schools will be required to provide payment for their portion of this experience when they register for their field trip.

Applicants who receive funding for transportation will be required to submit proof of payment for their transportation services. The Zoo will not pay the transportation company directly. Once the paid invoice is received, the Zoo will reimburse the school for the amount listed in the Scholarship Award Agreement or 75% of the submitted invoice (whichever is a lesser amount).

Contact Teacher Name

School Administrator Name

Scholarship funding for the Learning is Wild program is made possible through grants and donations. As a good steward, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium provides all program donors with a final report highlighting outcomes and testimonials from each academic year. Zoo staff may contact scholarship recipients (educators and students) to request feedback as part of this reporting process. Feedback can be used to report on grant outcomes or to promote the scholarship opportunity. Thank you for your cooperation!

Please be patient when submitting your application. If you do not see a "Thank you for your submission" page, the application submission was not successful. Please verify that all fields are filled in including the document uploads. Thank you for your cooperation!