Programs

Scheduling Details

schedule details

Information for Scheduling a Visit

Currently taking reservations for the 2025-2026 school year!

  • The Rutgers Science Explorer program is designed for students in grades 6–8
  • The program normally conducts visits on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays within a radius of within 50 miles of Piscataway, NJ.
  • There are two options for the visits:
      • Option 1: Activities aboard the Rutgers Science Explorer Bus
        • Each visit consists of up to 3x75 minute sessions (60 students per day) OR 4x90 minute sessions (80 students per day).
        • Each session can accommodate a maximum of 20 students and their teachers.
        • The cost for one day's visit is $700* for nonprofit and 501(c)(3) organizations, including schools. For-profit organizations, please contact us. 
      • Option 2: Activities inside the classrooms
        • Each visit consists of up to 3x75 minute sessions (90 students per day) OR 4x90 minute sessions (120 students per day).
        • Each session can accommodate a maximum of 30 students and their teachers.
        • The cost for one day's visit is $500* for nonprofit and 501(c)(3) organizations, including schools. For-profit organizations, please contact us.
    * Need-based scholarship are available upon request.
  • A teacher must be present on the bus at all times when students are present.
  • There are 15 minutes between activity sessions for clean-up and prep, and a 30-minute lunch break.
  • Schools that cannot accommodate all the students in one day may schedule consecutive days as availability allows.

RSE Coordinator

Before requesting a Rutgers Science Explorer visit, a teacher or staff member must agree to serve as the RSE School Coordinator to help arrange and plan the visit. The coordinator is expected to manage the various responsibilities and tasks associated with a visit, such as submitting the visit request form, setting the schedule for the visit, making parking arrangements for the bus, and fielding calls and emails from the Rutgers Science Explorer staff.

 

To get started in planning a visit from the RSE to your school, please complete the visit request form.

 

Responsibilities of the School Coordinator

The School Explorer Coordinator’s contributions are vital to a successful visit by the Rutgers Science Explorer. The following is a list of the coordinator’s responsibilities:

  1. Complete the Rutgers Science Explorer visit schedule form and coordinate scheduling with the Rutgers Science Explorer staff.
  2. After you have received confirmation of the date of your visit, do the following:
    • Coordinate and arrange experiment sessions. Fill out the schedule form that our team will email you.
    • Have your principal send Rutgers a confirmation letter via email.
    • Inform the Rutgers Science Explorer staff of any special requirements needed to accommodate students.
  3. Arrange any permission slips required by your school. Our program does not provide permission slips and does not need to review permission slips. A photograph-release form for students and a photograph-release form for teachers are available to allow students and teachers to be photographed during the bus visit.
  4. Arrange for a secure location to park the Rutgers Science Explorer. The location must not disrupt traffic or require that the bus be moved. (Staff scientists are not licensed to drive the vehicle.)
  5. Provide Rutgers with a map of the school area indicating where the bus will be parked and detailed driving directions to your school. (We do not accept directions from Internet websites. Please supply routes that are accessible to commercial vehicles and have a height clearance of 13 feet. The Rutgers Science Explorer is not able to travel highways that restrict commercial traffic, such as the Garden State Parkway in northern New Jersey.)
  6. All materials should be emailed to the Rutgers Science Explorer team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..