What happens on a staff-guided Conservatory school tour?
Guided school tours take place on foot throughout the Conservatory's plant collections with a focus on topics specific to the program you have chosen.
- Every 15 minutes, groups of 10 – 35 students leave from the Atrium with a member of the Conservatory’s education staff. Staff guided tours are one hour long.
- Students are provided with clipboards, activity sheets, and pencils.
- While waiting for your tour to begin, you can visit the historic Palm House, the Conservatory Gift Shop, and – weather permitting – explore Franklin Park.
- Pre-school and Kindergarten school programs include a story and activity. Groups are escorted to the tour entrance where they take a self-guided tour through the plant collections.
School Tour Descriptions
Interdisciplinary Field Trips for Grades 1-8.
Add a language arts component to any of our life science programs for an interdisciplinary learning experience. Life science field trips for grades 1-8 that include this language arts option will use writing activities to address academic content standards in both life science and language arts. Language arts learning is a natural fit within life science programs because students use reading, writing and oral language to address questions about scientific content and to build their capacity for scientific reasoning.
Students on language arts field trips will:
- Tour the plant collections to gain a scientific understanding of topics relevant to the selected program
- Practice prewriting strategies to organize their knowledge
- Generate ideas for informational and creative writing that can be developed back in the classroom
A language arts focus may be added to Habitat Adventure, Botany Basics or Blooms & Butterflies.
Habitat Adventure
Grades 1 - 8
September 23 - June 11
Review the basic needs of plants and animals. Compare and contrast how plants adapt to a variety of climates including temperate mountains, tropical rainforests and deserts. Discuss food chains and think about the variety of ways that energy moves through an ecosystem. View live blue and gold macaws in the rainforest and make guesses about how they help the ecosystem thrive.
Blooms & Butterflies
Grades 1 - 8
March 17 - June 11
Discover how butterflies use plants to meet their needs at every life stage and make observations about the perfect butterfly habitat. Learn about their specialized body parts and marvel at the tricks they use to escape predation. See butterflies emerging from their chrysalides and watch live butterflies in our Pacific Island habitat.
Botany Basics
Grades 4 - 8
September 23 - June 11
Review plant parts and their functions, and take a journey through amazing plants from around the world. Compare the life cycles of plants, and explore the specialized parts that help plants survive in temperate mountain, tropical rainforest and desert climates. Learn about the symbiotic relationships formed between plants and animals, and see prehistoric plants in the Pacific Islands.
Plants and Our Changing Environment
Grades 9 - 12
September 23 - June 11
As the first organisms to colonize dry land, plants display an amazing array of structural adaptations. Travel through each of the biomes in the Conservatory to learn about individual plants and how they interact with biotic and abiotic components of each environment. Discover how changes in an environment affect the organisms that live there. A great introduction to a unit on plants, or to deepen knowledge for AP classes.
Bending Nature
Grades 1-12
October 7 – March 26
Artists see the natural world differently. Now you can, too. Visit the Conservatory’s first-of-its-kind exhibition of contemporary art inspired by traditional horticultural practices. See the creations of 15 artists willing to challenge boundaries, and redefine your own views of what nature and art can be. Guided tours are available with a visual art or language arts focus.
Choose Your Field Trip Focus
Visual Art field trips tour the exhibition with discussion and activities where students will:
- View works by nationally and internationally known contemporary artists who take their inspiration from nature
- Explore nature as a source of inspiration for artwork
- Use the vocabulary of art criticism to describe and express opinions about the artwork
Language Arts field trips tour the exhibition with a focus on generating ideas for creative writing that can be developed back in the classroom. Students will:
- Explore nature as a source of inspiration for artwork and writing
- Acquire vocabulary distinct to featured artistic styles and plant science
- Practice pre-writing strategies to capture their responses to the artwork
Preschool & Kindergarden Programs
Designed for children ages 4-6, each program is 30 minutes long and includes a story and activity. Groups are escorted to the tour entrance, where they take a self-guided tour of the Conservatory.
Seasons
September 23 - March 12
Learn how plants change throughout the year and identify ways that people and animals use plants in every season.
Blooms & Butterflies
March 17 - June 11
Discover how butterflies use plants to meet their needs at every stage of their life cycle.
