Children's Group Programs

The Huntsville Botanical Garden is the place to be to make science come alive for your students. By providing learning experiences that are an extension of your classroom and in accordance with National and Alabama Science Standards, your students will discover the amazing world around them in our action-packed field adventures.

We can’t wait to take you and your students on a field adventure like no other! Dates book quickly, so call (256) 430-3572, ext. 226 to make your reservation today!

DINOSAUR INVASION!

Dinosaurs will be invading Huntsville starting March 2008, and we want you to be a part of the adventure! The Garden will be home to over 20 life-size dinosaurs from March through July 2008. Your students can participate in the invasion by painting and decorating a dinosaur to be displayed in your school between completion date and March 5. Return your dinosaur by March 7, and we will release it into the wilds of the Garden. We will provide the dinosaur cut-out; your students provide the creativity.

On March 10, a panel will judge the dinosaurs, and the winning school will receive a free field trip for an entire class, including bus fare! Dinosaurs will be available for delivery on October 1, so call now to receive yours! Call (256) 430-3572, ext. 226 (one dinosaur per school please).

Call now to join these participating schools:

• Blossomwood Elementary School
• Holy Family Elementary School
• Legacy Elementary School
• Hazel Green Elementary School
• Schola Maxima
• Challenger Elementary School
• Grace Lutheran Elementary School
• Heritage Elementary School
• East Clinton Elementary School
• Riverton Elementary School
• Morris Elementary School
• Chaffee Elementary School
• Rainbow Elementary School
• Joy of Learning
• Central Elementary School
• Premier Elementary School
• Primrose RP

There’s more! We have developed three new programs to allow your students a more in-depth look at the world of the dinosaur. On March 19, we invite you to a free teacher day of these programs and our new Garden inhabitants. All teachers are welcome to bring one guest and tour the Garden.

DINOSAUR ROUND UP, Kindergarten - Third Grade

The world of paleontology will come alive for your students when you visit the Garden. Rotating through four stations in the Children’s Garden, students will discover how fossils are created, why bones and fossils are different, how paleontologists use their creativity to figure out what dinosaurs looked like and even hunt for real fossils.
$6, Ninety-minute program, Year Round (May and September excluded)

FOSSIL FLIGHT, Kindergarten - Third Grade

We bring together your kids favorite things in one program, insects and dinosaurs! Your students will get a chance to investigate the bugs that "bugged" the dinosaurs, and compare them to the bugs that bother us today.
$6, One-Hour program, March - July

DINOSAUR DIMENSIONS, Four Years - Second Grade

Say dinosaur, and everyone pictures something gigantic. But are your students visualizing the right size? We’ll help your children discover the true sizes of dinosaurs from a Brachiosaurus to a Compy. Measuring, comparing and the Scientific Method are all highlighted in this program.
$6, One hour program, March - July

PROGRAMS

All of the Huntsville Botanical Garden educational programs are in line with National and State Science Standards. Groups are welcome to stay after their program is completed and tour the Garden on their own. Please inform us when you make your reservation if you wish to stay longer. Fees are per student. All programs require advance registration.

GARDEN WALK-THROUGHS, All ages, minimum 15 children

Bring your group for a self-guided walk-through of the Garden. Take your time and explore the Nature Trail, Children’s Garden, Nature Center (in season), wherever you wish to wander.
$3 per student, $4 with a Garden Docent, year round.

INDOOR/OUTDOOR PROGRAMS

GOING ON A BEAR HUNT, Four Years Old - First Grade

Let us take your children on a sensory experience while they hunt for a bear in the Garden. We’ll teach them why gardens are important to animals and why animals are important to gardens. Well also show your students how to find out what animals are using the garden as a home. We’ll complete our quest with a craft about the 5 senses.
30 students; 90-minute program - 60 minutes inside, 30 minutes outside; $5 per student; offered year round.

BUTTERFLIES AND BUGS, First Grade - Fourth Grade

From egg, to caterpillar, through chrysalis and finally to butterfly, we’ll show your students the amazing transformations that occur in the nations largest, netted Nature Center. We’ll continue our investigation of insects by trying to catch their predators, fish and tadpoles. While visiting our aquatic garden, young entomologists will investigate the perilous life of aquatic insects and discover how a pond's food chain works.
180 students; 2-hour program - 90 minutes outside, 30 minutes inside; $6 per student; offered last week of April through first week of October.

SEEDS EVERYWHERE, Kindergarten - Third Grade

Exploding seedpods, rolling gumballs and whirly-twirly helicopters. Bet your students didn’t realize that engineering started with Mother Nature. Sign your class up to discover the physics behind seeds and nuts; they’ll have a blast!
30 students; 90-minute program - 45 minutes inside, 45 minutes outside; $5 per student; offered February - April

MONARCH BIOLOGY, Fourth - Seventh Grades

Traveling through different stations, your students will get a chance to see the life-cycle of a Monarch up-close and personal. We'll investigate the anatomy of each stage, using microscopes to look at a butterflies wings and the tiny egg the caterpillar hatches from. This program truly offers a unique view into the world of the butterfly.
20 students; two-hour program; $8 per student; offered May - October

INDOOR PROGRAMS

LIGHT IT UP, Third - Sixth Grade

"Light it up" is the perfect program to introduce your students to electricity. We’ll explain the difference between Watts, Amps and Volts, play the battery game, and challenge teams to make the longest, working strand of lights. We round out the class by teaching the students how to read an electric meter, and discover why they’re parents get mad when they leave the light on.
20 students; one-hour program; $5 per student, offered October - February

S’MORE SCIENCE, Second - Fifth Grade

We’re cooking up fun at the Garden by investigating the world of chocolate and marshmallows. Your students will discover where chocolate comes from and the journey it takes to get into our candy bars. We’ll also use chemistry and physics to learn why marshmallows expand when we cook them, and how to make a creamy cup of hot chocolate.
30 students; one-hour program; $5 per student; offered August - February.

OUTDOOR PROGRAMS

AUTUMN ADVENTURES, K - Second grade

Fall is a beautiful time in the Garden and we would like to take your students on a journey through what the outdoors has to offer. From discovering how plants make you healthier and your food taste better, to looking for creepy crawlies, even going on a fossil hunt, we let your students do it all in this activity packed program.
180 students; two-hour program; $6 per student; Tuesdays and Fridays, August – First week of November

NATURE TRAIL EXPLORATIONS, Third - Fifth Grade

Your students will learn all about survival of the fittest as they explore the Garden’s Nature Trail. In this program we investigate survival needs and instincts, learn to identify watersheds, and explore how animal’s lives are changed when streams rise and fall.
90 students; 90-minute program; $5 per student; offered August – April.

SPECIAL NEEDS NATURE TRAIL EXPLORATIONS, Third - Sixth Grade

We’ve adapted our Natural Trail program to be conducted at a more leisurely pace and provide more hands on experiences for your special needs students. Please book this program at least three-weeks in advance.
15 students; two-hour program; $6 per student, offered August - April.

POND LIVING, Fourth - Sixth Grade

Explore the ponds of the Huntsville Botanical Garden with your students. We will look at the difference between man-made and natural water sources, and discover why both are important to the animals found here.
20 students; 90-minute program; $5 per student; offered April - November.

For information or to register, call the Education Department at 256-430-3572 ext. 226 or email the education department.