$ DISCOVER CHEAP US FREE & CHEAP TRAVEL
Home › Homeschool › West Virginia

Homeschool Discounts in West Virginia

Big-ticket West Virginia museums and attractions with homeschool discount days — typically 30–50% off for kids, sometimes free.

Updated June 2026 · 6 confirmed programs · 3 call-to-confirm

West Virginia's best homeschool deals lead with its science centers and natural wonders. Charleston's Clay Center runs school and homeschool field trips from $6.50 a child — $10 adds a Caperton Planetarium dome show — across the Avampato Discovery Museum's hands-on STEM and art labs. Lost World Caverns near Lewisburg guides students 120 feet underground for $4.50 in grades 1–8, with a free adult for every ten kids, and the Oglebay Good Zoo in Wheeling — the only AZA-accredited zoo in the state — books guided Ed-Zoo-Cation programs at roughly $12 a child for a co-op of 25.

The art and history side holds up too. The Huntington Museum of Art, West Virginia's largest, gives school and homeschool groups free docent-led tours on top of free admission for under-18s. Heritage Farm Museum & Village — a Smithsonian Affiliate — runs living-history field trips with downloadable Appalachian lesson plans, Beckley's Exhibition Coal Mine takes groups 1,500 feet underground with a coal camp and planetarium show, and Wheeling's Schrader Environmental Center adds grade-by-grade nature programs. Several publish a group rate only by phone, so a quick call locks in the homeschool price.

Confirmed homeschool pricing

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

Recurring
Weekdays
School year, by reservation
$10
per kid

Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences

Charleston · All ages · Groups of 10+; book by phone

West Virginia's flagship science-and-arts center pairs the hands-on Avampato Discovery Museum, the Caperton Planetarium & Theater, and the Juliet Art Museum under one roof. Field-trip bookings add their pick of STEM labs, art labs, early-childhood programs, and live science demonstrations — exactly the kind of single-day visit a homeschool co-op can fill.

Regular admission: $12 adults / $10 children (gate) — the $10 planetarium field-trip rate beats the gate plus a separate planetarium charge
Note: Field-trip rates per student: $6.50 museum only, $10 with a Caperton Planetarium show, and $13.50 with a planetarium show plus a STEM or art education program. One chaperone is free for every 10 students.
Homeschool page at theclaycenter.org →
Recurring
Weekdays
By reservation
~$12
per kid

Oglebay Good Zoo

Wheeling · All ages · Group rate covers up to 25 students

West Virginia's only AZA-accredited zoo runs Ed-Zoo-Cation field-trip programs built around live animal ambassadors, biofacts, and grade-tiered guided tours past red pandas, cheetahs, and wallabies. Homeschool co-ops book the same group programs schools do, and Oglebay Park around it is free to enter for the rest of the day.

Regular admission: $17 adults / $13 children 3-12 — a 25-student co-op pays roughly $12 a child for a guided program at the state's only accredited zoo
Note: Guided Ed-Zoo-Cation programs run $300 for a group of up to 25 students (about $12 each) or $387 for up to 44, covering a 30-minute animal-ambassador program plus a 45-minute guided tour. Virtual and multi-program options are also published.
Homeschool page at oglebay.com →
Recurring
Weekdays
By reservation
$4.50
per kid

Lost World Caverns

Lewisburg · K–12 · Call (304) 645-6677 to reserve

A one-hour guided tour drops students 120 feet into a lit limestone cavern, covering how caves form, the difference between stalactites and stalagmites, and what life survives underground. Afterward groups browse the on-site dinosaur museum and can add a gem-mining sluice, then picnic at the large outdoor area before heading home.

Regular admission: $14 adults / $8 children (gate) — grades 1–8 pay $4.50 versus the $8 child gate
Note: Field-trip rates by grade: kindergarten $3.50, grades 1–8 $4.50, grades 9–12 $7.50. One adult is free for every 10 students, teachers and bus drivers are free, and extra adults pay $9.
Homeschool page at lostworldcaverns.com →
Recurring
Tue–Sat
By appointment
Free
per kid

Huntington Museum of Art

Huntington · All ages · Reserve a docent at least two weeks ahead

West Virginia's largest art museum offers free, standards-aligned docent tours of its American and European art, glass, and Appalachian folk collections, plus a plant conservatory and wooded nature trails. With admission already free for under-18s, a homeschool group's whole visit — tour included — costs nothing.

Regular admission: $5 adults / Free under 18 — free docent-led tours for school and homeschool groups
Note: All school and homeschool group tours are free, and general admission is already free for everyone under 18. Reserve a docent-led tour at least two weeks ahead; self-guided visits and nature-trail tours are also offered.
Homeschool page at hmoa.org →
Recurring
Field trips
May–October, by reservation
$10
per kid

Heritage Farm Museum & Village

Huntington · All ages · Book via the school-tour intake form

West Virginia's first Smithsonian Affiliate runs living-history field trips through a recreated 19th-century Appalachian village, led by costumed reenactors, artisans, and facilitators. Topics span coal mining, the path to statehood, frontier medicine, and one-room schooling, and groups rotate through hands-on stations across the museums, blacksmith shop, and farmstead.

Regular admission: $17 adults / $10 children 3-12 — the $10 field-trip rate covers a full guided living-history program
Note: $10 per student on general-admission days (the farm stays open to the public, up to 11 touring groups) and $12 per student on private tour days (closed to the public, up to six classes of 25 rotating through six 15–20 minute instructional stations). One group is a class of 25. Free downloadable Appalachian lesson plans support the visit.
Homeschool page at heritagefarmwv.com →
Recurring
Weekdays
Field trips by reservation
Free
per kid

Craik-Patton House

Charleston · All ages · Schedule with the Executive Director

An 1834 Greek Revival house museum - built by a grandson of George Washington's physician and later owned by General George S. Patton's grandfather. Costumed-informal guided tours bring 19th-century Charleston to life through architecture, artifacts, and storytelling, with gardens to explore afterward.

Regular admission: Free — free standards-aligned history field trips
Note: School and homeschool group tours are free (general public tours are free as well; other groups over 15 pay $3). Guided field trips align with West Virginia history and social studies standards. Open weekdays 10-4; contact the Executive Director to schedule.
Homeschool page at craikpattonhouse.org →

Worth calling about

These venues run homeschool programs but don't publish pricing online. Call before you go.

When
School & homeschool groups
April–November
Call
no public price

Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine & Youth Museum

Beckley

Groups ride a man-trip car 1,500 feet into a restored 1890s coal seam with a veteran-miner guide, then explore a coal camp with a miner's home, church, and one-room school. The bundled Youth Museum adds rotating hands-on exhibits and a planetarium show — a full single-day study of Appalachian coal history.

Regular admission: $22 adults / $12.50 children 4-17
How to reach them: Group rates apply to 15 or more by reservation; the visit covers the underground mine tour, the recreated coal camp, the Youth Museum, the Mountain Homestead, and a planetarium show. Call (304) 256-1747.
Homeschool page at beckley.gov →
When
Field trips
School year
Call
no public price

Schrader Environmental Education Center

Wheeling

Oglebay Institute's free nature center inside Oglebay Park runs grade-tiered programs — owl-pellet dissection, bird study, watershed and recycling units — across the EarthTrek exhibit hall, children's awareness area, and the A.B. Brooks Discovery Trail. A homeschool co-op can book a guided single-day field trip in the woods.

Regular admission: Free center admission
How to reach them: Field trips and in-school programs run preschool through grade 12 and are adjusted by grade level; pricing is by inquiry. Contact Oglebay Institute at (304) 242-6855.
Homeschool page at oionline.com →
When
Homeschool groups
Wed–Sun
Call
no public price

Huntington Children's Museum

Huntington

This hands-on children's museum, opened in 2024, fills a downtown building with an indoor climbing structure, sand and water tables, a grocery-store role-play area, and a stop-motion video station. Staff welcome homeschool and school groups for field trips geared to younger learners.

Regular admission: $10 ages 2 and up
How to reach them: Homeschool and school field trips are welcome, but the group rate isn't published online. Call (681) 378-3330 to arrange a visit; standard admission is $10 per person, with $2 SNAP/WIC rates.
Homeschool page at hcmkids.org →

Plus more free and cheap educational outings in West Virginia

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

Charleston

6 free or cheap
  • WV State Museum at the Culture CenterFree
  • West Virginia State CapitolFree
  • Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences$12 adults / $8 children 3-12 / Free under 3
  • Sunrise Carriage TrailFree
  • Criel Mound at Staunton ParkFree
  • Craik-Patton HouseFree (donations welcome)
See all Charleston attractions →

Morgantown

5 free or cheap
  • WVU Core ArboretumFree
  • Morgantown History MuseumFree
  • Watts Museum at West Virginia UniversityFree
  • Old Stone HouseFree
  • Art Museum of WVUFree
See all Morgantown attractions →

Harpers Ferry

8 free or cheap
  • Harpers Ferry National Historical Park$10 per person on foot or bike / $20 per private vehicle / Free under 16
  • Lower Town Historic DistrictIncluded with park entry ($10 on foot / $20 per vehicle)
  • Jefferson RockIncluded with park entry
  • John Brown's FortIncluded with park entry
  • Bolivar Heights TrailIncluded with park entry
  • Murphy-Chambers Farm TrailIncluded with park entry
  • Storer College CampusIncluded with park entry
  • Appalachian Trail Conservancy Visitor CenterFree
See all Harpers Ferry attractions →

Huntington

5 free or cheap
  • Heritage Farm Museum & Village$17 adults / $10 children 3-12 / Free under 2
  • Huntington Museum of Art$5 adults / Free under 18 / Free Tuesdays
  • Huntington Children's Museum$10 ages 2+ / Free under 2
  • Museum of Radio & TechnologyFree (donations welcome)
  • Marshall University Memorial FountainFree
See all Huntington attractions →

Wheeling

7 free or cheap
  • Oglebay Good Zoo$17 adults / $13 children 3-12 / Free under 3
  • Wheeling Suspension BridgeFree
  • West Virginia Independence HallFree
  • Schrader Environmental Education CenterFree
  • Mansion & Glass Museums at Oglebay$15 both museums / $10 single / Free under 18 with adult
  • Stifel Fine Arts CenterFree
  • Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum$15 adults / $7.50 students 4-17
See all Wheeling attractions →

Lewisburg

5 free or cheap
  • Lost World Caverns$14 adults / $8 children / Free small children
  • North House Museum$10 adults / $7 students / Free under 5
  • Lewisburg Historic Walking TourFree
  • Old Stone Presbyterian ChurchFree
  • Carnegie Hall WVFree galleries (performances ticketed)
See all Lewisburg attractions →

Beckley

5 free or cheap
  • Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine$22 adults / $12.50 children 4-17
  • Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia$5 main gallery
  • Tamarack: The Best of West VirginiaFree admission
  • Beckley Art CenterFree (donations welcome)
  • Wildwood House MuseumFree (donations welcome)
See all Beckley attractions →

See all 70 West Virginia attractions on the directory →