When is my visit confirmed? Your visit is not confirmed until you receive communication from a CMA staff member and submit payment for your visit. You will receive a receipt and emailed confirmation once your payment has been completed.
What is the exact time of my visit? K-12 visits: After submitting your inquiry, you can share the exact preferred time of your visit with CMA staff. Your virtual visit will begin promptly at that time and will last no longer than 50 minutes (or the end of your class period). Early Childhood Virtual Visits are only offered Tuesdays from 10 AM to 10:40 AM EST.
How do we access the visit? If you plan to host the visit, you will need to invite CMA staff to your virtual classroom or preferred school platform via a direct invite or link. For information from the DOE on this, please click here.
Can CMA host a virtual visit on its own platform? Yes! CMA can also host a visit on our preferred platform (Zoom) and provide you with an access link.
Does a teacher need to be present? Yes. A licensed teacher or school / organization faculty member must be present for the entire virtual visit experience. This person is responsible for admitting students to the virtual classroom, behavior management, and encouraging any other school rules and norms. This is to protect student safety. If this person is not present, the visit must conclude promptly and payment will not be refunded.
How many students can participate? The max number of participating students is 32 students per session. Visits work best when students participate with their usual class or group (not combining groups).
Can visits be recorded? No, we do not allow visits to be recorded. We invite schools and groups to think creatively about how all participants can access the virtual visit synchronously.
Will students be required to have cameras/mics on? We do not require students to have their videos on to participate in our programs. We highly recommend students have their mics on to participate in a discussion. We also ask educators to let us know what the class expectations are and if the majority of students will or will not have cameras on to help us plan for a successful visit.
Are pre-visit activities required? No, but they are recommended. Virtual Visits are shorter than our in-person experiences, so pre-visit activities help introduce participants to the main ideas of the visit. They are also designed to be easy to integrate into synchronous or asynchronous learning and can be scaffolded to fit the needs of your class. Pre-visit activities will be sent in the confirmation email.
I will have students in my physical room. Can we still do a virtual visit? Yes! Depending on the technology available to you, you can hold a virtual visit via Smart Board or other devices in your classroom. Please note this on your request form.
My school is fully in-person. Can we visit the physical museum? No, the museum is not offering in-person programming at this time.