OMRF facility tours are available upon request to high school and college-level science and leadership classes. Tours are coordinated through OMRF’s Philanthropy & Community Relations team.
The 4-1-1 on OMRF Tours
- Groups of up to 30 people are welcome
- For school groups, students must be in eighth grade or above
- Must be scheduled at least one month in advance
- Tours are not available on Monday mornings or Friday afternoons
- Want to see a specific area of research? Please let us know, and we’ll do our best to accommodate you.
Please arrive on time! OMRF scientists set aside valuable research time to discuss their work with your group. If your group is more than 15 minutes late, we are unable to ensure scientists are still available and your tour may be rescheduled for a later date or canceled.
What to Expect
When your group arrives at OMRF for your tour, you will enter through the Chapman Research Building (825 NE 13th St.). Please buzz in at the box located next to our white gate arm, just east of the main entrance. You’ll be greeted in the main lobby.
We typically begin with a short video in our auditorium, which details OMRF’s unique, rich history. After the video, we will split up into groups depending on your group’s size, and visit two labs/scientists per group.
Each tour stop will last between 20-35 minutes, depending on the number of questions asked by the group. Questions are highly encouraged. OMRF staff does their best to schedule each group to visit the same labs, but unfortunately, this cannot be promised, as it depends on the scientists’ availability. The whole tour will take anywhere from one hour to one and a half hours.
After each group completes their tour, they will gather in the front foyer and OMRF staff will distribute information about our organization for the group to take home with them.
Research Animals
Depending on the scheduled tour stops for the day, your group may or may not observe animals, such as mice or rats, in a number of our labs. If this might pose a problem for anyone in your group, please let us know ahead of time, and we will be sure to exclude that from your tour.
Map/Parking
Tours begin in OMRF’s Chapman Research Building located at 825 NE 13th Street. You will see our research tower as you’re driving on 13th Street, but please do not go there unless instructed. The tower entrance does not have accessible parking for large vans or buses.
When you arrive at our main building, please pull into our driveway. You’ll see a white gate arm. Drive up to that, press the button to your left and security will let you in. If you’re traveling in a car, please park in any available spot in that lot. If you’re traveling in a bus, please continue all the way north in that lot and park the bus near our loading dock. Here’s a map to our entrance and parking.
Contact
For more information or to request a tour, please contact us!
(405) 271-7400
philanthropy@omrf.org
