Group tours are available throughout the year but may be limited or unavailable during University Final Exams, University Holidays, or Special Event Days.
Group Tours
Group Tours will be available throughout the academic year. Groups require a minimum of 15 guests or more with a maximum of 100 guests.
Groups of 100+ students will only be offered our On Campus Self-Guided Experience.
We offer two tour options! On-campus self-guided or on-campus guided. Our staff will help guide on which option is best for your group. Due to high demand we recommend requesting a group tour at least three weeks to a month in advance.
Download our Group Tour Guide for further instructions:
What you need to know:
To provide you with the best experience possible, please review our Group Tour Guidelines.
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One chaperone is required for every 15 students attending. Chaperones must stay with the group at all times and are responsible for guests on tour.
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Arrive at least 15 minutes early to allow for unloading and tour preparation time. We understand there may be possible delays in your travel. If delays occur, please notify our office as soon as possible with an updated arrival time.
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Groups who arrive more than 20 minutes late may have an adjusted tour schedule. This includes readjusted tour stops, tour duration times, and/or canceling a portion of the tour.
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Inappropriate behavior from any member of the tour group toward the UTRGV students, faculty, staff and/or UTRGV property will result in immediate termination of tour.
- School buses are responsible for parking in instructed parking lot. (Refer to "Day of Visit" tab) for parking details. Any regular size vehicle must purchase visitor parking pass and parking Visitor Parking areas. Any citations received are not the responsibility of the Campus Visit Program.
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If you have scheduled additional items during your visit, please notify our office. We want to ensure your visit runs as smooth as possible.
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Be sure to check your email to ensure a confirmation email was received. Some security firewalls may redirect our emails to your junk/spam folders.
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Confirmation emails will be sent to the email address provided on the request form. Should a change occur in your reservation, please email campustours@utrgv.edu.
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Tours may be cancelled on short notice due to inclement weather. If a tour is cancelled, an email will be sent to the email address listed on the request form.
To ensure a successful tour please abide by the policies below during your group’s visit:
Locations:
- Edinburg Campus
- 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, Texas 78539 (Drop off at Visitor Center)
- Brownsville Campus
- One West University Blvd. Brownsville, Texas 78520 (Drop off at Main Building)
Drop off and Pick Up:
- Edinburg Campus
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Have your driver to unload and load in the bus stop cutout area, in front of the Visitors Center. *Do not load and unload buses directly in front of the Bronc Statue, as it is a fire lane.
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One representative of the group should head into the Visitors Center to notify the front desk of your arrival.
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- Brownsville Campus
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Have your driver to unload and load in the bus stop cutout area, in front of Main. Drive down to the half circle around the water fountain, where you will see a bus cutout area, you may safely load and unload there.
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One representative of the group head into the Main Tower to notify the front desk of your arrival.
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Late Arrival:
- Should it appear your group would not arrive on time, please notify Campus Tours by calling 956-665-7338.
- Be aware that a change in arrival time will make it difficult to complete your pre-planned scheduled activities and may result in the cancellation of some agenda items.
Conduct:
- Upon arrival we are guests and must adhere to the recommendations and instructions of the Campus Visit staff, including Tour Guides.
Optional Activities:
Any additional add-ons must go through the designated department unless noted otherwise.
These activities are on the Edinburg Campus Only.
*When selecting additional activities please keep in mind only the campus tour is guided. Chaperons should be prepared for self guided experience for any additional activities taking longer than 2hrs.
H-E-B Planetarium
The Planetarium creates, promotes, and disseminates learning and educational experiences through utilizing digitally enhanced visualization technology, surround sound and other innovative specialized equipment.
Hours of Operation
| Monday: | 8:00am - 5:00pm |
| Tuesday: | 8:00am - 7:00pm |
| Wednesday: | 8:00am - 5:00pm |
| Thursday: | 8:00am - 5:00pm |
| Friday: | 8:00am - 5:00pm |
NOTE: Last showing is 30 minutes before closing.
Contact us:
EPLAN
Map: Planetarium Location
Email: planetarium@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-7088
Phone Alt: (956) 665-7836
Important Policies
- UTRGV HEB Planetarium reserves the right to cancel in-person events at any time due to an increase in COVID-19 cases.
- Please arrive 10 minutes prior to your scheduled show time.
- Please report cancellations in a timely manner. Cancellations made at least one week prior to a scheduled show date are accepted without penalty. Cancellations made less than one week prior to a scheduled show date may incur penalty. Weather or valid emergency cancellations are exempt from this policy.
- For safety reasons, NO late entry or re-entry into the dome is allowed. There are no exceptions to this rule.
- Due to scheduling limitations, the planetarium may not be able to accept reservations less than two weeks in advance.
- Teachers must be the individual scheduling the field trip. Parents are not able to call to schedule a field trip.
Group Size
- Due to COVID-19 the HEB Planetarium has a limited occupancy of maximum 13 individuals (12 students/kids and 1 adult/chaperon).
Pricing
- Student group rate: $3/student (20-30 minutes) $2/per student (less than 10 minutes)
- Teachers and any additional adults are admitted for free.
To Book a Show
- Select a program from our Field Trip Program list.
- Plan your time. Planetarium shows last approximately 5-30 minutes.
- You may use the online reservation form, if you wish. Note: online reservation forms will not be accepted if a show is not selected.
- Teachers, please assemble the following items before calling to schedule your field trip:
- Contact Information: school name, address, phone number, lead contact, alternate contact, phone numbers, and email addresses.
- Attendees: grade level, number of students, teachers
- Dates/Times: dates and show time, plus an alternate date and show time in case we are already booked.
- Special Needs: The planetarium can accommodate a limited number of persons in wheelchairs. Please advise the scheduling coordinator when making reservations.
Activities
Visit C-STEM Page for Pricing
https://www.utrgv.edu/cstem/activities/on-campus-visits/index.htm
Contact Us:
Center of Excellence in STEM Education
EMAGC 2.402
Map: Center Location
Email: cstem@utrgv.edu
Phone: (956) 665-STEM (7836)
Phone Alt: (956) 665-7320
Our STEM Center offers many hands-on activities and presentations that are designed to stimulate the young minds of students and to instill passion for STEM-related fields.
We also regularly present 3D educational IMAX and National Geographic movies on a wide range of STEM topics such as: International Space Station, Hubble, life in deep sea, paleontology and the Arctic.
