Homeschool Discounts in North Dakota (2026) — Dinosaurs, Bison & Science Centers

North Dakota's homeschool deals run from dinosaurs to STEAM labs. Dickinson's Badlands Dinosaur Museum drops to $2 a student for K–12 groups — one ticket covering its whole Dickinson Museum Center campus — and Minot's brand-new Magic City Discovery Center books homeschool field trips at $6 a student with free chaperones. Bismarck's Gateway to Science, the state's only hands-on science center, gives groups of 10 a $9 rate and admits homeschool families with a letter of intent.

The free museums carry the rest. The North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum in Bismarck — the state's flagship history museum — is free to visit and runs free school field trips, and both the North Dakota Museum of Art in Grand Forks and the Plains Art Museum in Fargo offer free admission plus guided school tours by reservation. Jamestown's North American Bison Discovery Center rounds things out with bison-and-prairie programs for school groups.

Confirmed homeschool pricing

Published price on the venue's own homeschool page — most under $20 per child.

Recurring

Weekdays

By reservation

per kid

Badlands Dinosaur Museum

Dickinson · K–12 · Book 2 weeks ahead; (701) 456-6225

A city-run museum with full-size dinosaur skeletons, fossils, and a working paleo prep lab, bundled with a regional-history museum, a machinery hall, and an open-air pioneer village. The $2 group rate turns a whole campus into one budget-friendly earth-science and history field trip.

Regular admission: $6 adults / $4 children / $5 seniors (gate) — $2 per student versus the $4 child gate, across four museum components

Note: K–12 school and homeschool groups pay $2 per student and $2 per chaperone, with up to two educators free, booked at least two weeks ahead. The rate covers the whole Dickinson Museum Center — the dinosaur hall, Joachim history museum, Pioneer Machinery Hall, and Prairie Outpost Park. Ask for a 1:10 adult ratio.

Homeschool page at dickinsongov.com →

Recurring

Weekdays

By reservation

per kid

Magic City Discovery Center

Minot · All ages · Reserve a field-trip date in advance

Minot's gleaming children's museum, opened in 2023, is the largest discovery center between Minneapolis and Seattle — three floors of science, technology, engineering, art, and math exhibits, a climbing tower, water play, and an art studio that a homeschool group can fill for a hands-on day.

Regular admission: $15 ages 1+ (gate) — $6 per student field-trip rate versus the $15 gate

Note: Field-trip visits are $6 per student with chaperones free of charge; homeschool groups book the same rate. The center holds 150-plus hands-on STEAM exhibits across three floors and twelve galleries, explored self-guided. Members visit free.

Homeschool page at magiccitydiscoverycenter.com →

Recurring

Weekdays

By reservation

per kid

North Dakota's Gateway to Science

Bismarck · All ages · Groups of 10+; request 14 days ahead

North Dakota's only hands-on science center, with about 90 interactive exhibits on energy, water, physics, and the human body, plus live demonstrations. A homeschool co-op of ten clears the group minimum, and homeschool families are explicitly welcomed at the group rate.

Regular admission: $15 adults / $11 children 3-17 (gate) — $9 group rate with free educators, versus the $11 child gate

Note: Groups of 10 or more pay $9 per person; teachers and paraprofessionals are free with a school/district ID or a letter of intent to homeschool. Submit a group request at least 14 days ahead. SNAP/EBT families also pay $3 any day through Museums for All.

Homeschool page at gatewaytoscience.org →

Recurring

Weekdays

By reservation

Free

per kid

North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum

Bismarck · All ages · Schedule a field trip in advance

North Dakota's premier museum, on the Capitol grounds, walks visitors from the age of dinosaurs through Ice Age giants, Native American history, and the state's settlement and modern eras across four expansive galleries. Free admission makes a homeschool group's whole visit cost-free.

Regular admission: Free — free admission and free guided field trips at the state's flagship museum

Note: Admission is free for everyone, and the State Historical Society runs free guided school field trips through four galleries spanning 600 million years — from dinosaurs and Ice Age mammals to Native American history and statehood. Book ahead and homeschool groups are welcome.

Homeschool page at statemuseum.nd.gov →

Recurring

Weekdays

By reservation

Free

per kid

North Dakota Museum of Art

Grand Forks · All ages · Reserve a guided tour ahead

The state's official art museum, on the University of North Dakota campus, shows rotating contemporary, regional, and international art plus traditional American Indian and folk works and an outdoor sculpture garden. Free guided tours tie the collection to art, history, and human-rights themes.

Regular admission: Free (suggested $5 donation) — free admission and free guided school tours on the UND campus

Note: Admission is free (a $5 donation is suggested), and the museum offers free guided school tours of its contemporary, American Indian, and folk-art collections by reservation. A standing field-trip resource for North Dakota homeschoolers — book a docent-led visit ahead.

Homeschool page at ndmoa.com →

Recurring

Weekdays

By reservation

Free

per kid

Plains Art Museum

Fargo · All ages · Reserve a guided tour ahead

North Dakota's largest art museum fills a century-old downtown warehouse with regional, national, and Native American art, plus a hands-on Center for Creativity. Free admission and free guided tours make it an easy, no-cost art field trip for a homeschool group in Fargo.

Regular admission: Free — free admission and free guided art tours and studio activities

Note: Admission is free, and the museum books free guided school and homeschool tours plus hands-on studio activities in its downtown galleries and the Center for Creativity. Reserve a tour ahead through the education team.

Homeschool page at plainsart.org →

Recurring

Tue–Sat

By reservation

Free

per kid

North American Bison Discovery Center

Jamestown · All ages · Book a school-group visit ahead; (701) 252-8648

Beside the World's Largest Buffalo, this center tells the story of the bison's near-extinction and comeback and tends a live herd that has included rare white buffalo. Free school-group admission and summer pasture tours make it a memorable single-day natural-history field trip.

Regular admission: $12 adults / $10 students 5-14 / Free under 5 (gate) — free admission for school and homeschool groups versus the $10 student gate

Note: School groups are admitted FREE; the center arranges bison-and-prairie programs by reservation and runs summer pasture tours of the live herd. Other groups pay $5 a ticket ($100 minimum), and SNAP/EBT cardholders plus up to three guests are also free. Call (701) 252-8648 to book.

Homeschool page at bisoncenter.org →

Plus more free and cheap educational outings in North Dakota

Already on DiscoverCheapUS — free and low-cost North Dakota attractions homeschool families plan whole field-trip days around.

Fargo

7 free or cheap

Plains Art MuseumFree
Fargo Painted Bison TrailFree
Roger Maris MuseumFree
Fargo Air Museum$15 adults / $10 children 5–11 / Free age 4 & under
Fargo TheatreFree to see / shows $3–15
Bonanzaville USA$13 adults / $8 students 6–17 / Free age 5 & under / $38 family of 4
Red River Zoo$14.95 adults / $12.95 ages 2-14 / Free under 2

See all Fargo attractions →

Bismarck

7 free or cheap

North Dakota Heritage Center & State MuseumFree
North Dakota State CapitolFree
Former Governors' Mansion State Historic SiteFree
Camp Hancock State Historic SiteFree (donations welcome)
Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park$8 adults / $5 students K-12 (interpretive tour pass; park entry $7-10 vehicle extra)
Dakota Zoo$15 adults / $11 children 2–12 / Free under 2
North Dakota's Gateway to Science$15 adults / $11 children 3-17 / Free under 2 / $3 with EBT

See all Bismarck attractions →

Medora

7 free or cheap

Theodore Roosevelt National Park — South Unit$30/vehicle (7-day) / $15 per person / Free under 16
Maltese Cross CabinFree
Painted Canyon Visitor Center & OverlookFree
Chateau de Mores State Historic Site$10 adults / $5 children 6–17 / Free under 6
North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame$9 adults / $6 students / Kids 17 free Wed & Sun
Footsteps into Medora's Past — Self-Guided Audio Walking TourFree (self-guided)
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library (Opens July 4, 2026)Ticketed — price not yet published online (call to confirm)

See all Medora attractions →

Minot

5 free or cheap

Magic City Discovery Center$15 ages 1+ / $5 with EBT-SNAP / Free under 1
Scandinavian Heritage ParkFree (donations welcome)
Roosevelt Park Zoo$12 adults / $8 children 3-12 / Free under 3
Dakota Territory Air Museum$10 adults / $5 ages 6-17 / Free under 6
Taube Museum of ArtFree (donations welcome)

See all Minot attractions →

Grand Forks

3 free or cheap

North Dakota Museum of ArtFree (suggested $5 donation)
Myra Museum & Campbell HouseFree
North Dakota MillFree (tour by appointment)

See all Grand Forks attractions →

Dickinson

5 free or cheap

Badlands Dinosaur Museum$6 adults / $4 children / $5 seniors
Prairie Outpost ParkFree grounds (building tours with museum admission)
Joachim Regional History MuseumIncluded with $6 Museum Center admission
Assumption AbbeyFree
Downtown Dickinson Walking TourFree (self-guided)

See all Dickinson attractions →

Jamestown

5 free or cheap

North American Bison Discovery Center$12 adults / $10 students 5-14 / Free under 5
Frontier VillageFree ($5/vehicle donation suggested)
Stutsman County Memorial MuseumFree
Fort SewardFree (donations welcome)
Louis L'Amour Writers ShackFree (in Frontier Village)

See all Jamestown attractions →

See all 58 North Dakota attractions on the directory →