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Field Trips & Self Guided Tours

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Desert Botanical Garden is a natural learning environment for students of all ages. Request a field trip now or browse our field trip programs to see overviews, fees and other information:


Additional Information


If you have additional questions, please contact our School Program Facilitator, at 480 481.8121 or email teacherRSVP@dbg.org.


Sonoran Desert Adventure Program: Guided Tours

School Field Trips for Pre-K through 8th Grade

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Designed and taught by Desert Botanical Garden educators, we offer innovative field trips for grades Pre-K to 8. Our programs blend the Garden’s unique resources with a hands-on, inquiry-based learning experience--and a dose of fun--to get students excited about nature.

Garden field trips are specifically designed to complement your school district’s educational objectives, and correlate with Arizona Academic Standards, and we are renowned for advancing excellence in science education by:


Group tours for the 2010-2011 school year are available October 4 through May 6. Start Times are 9 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m.

Fees


Late cancellation fee for all groups (including Title I scholarships):


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Field Trip Program Summaries


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Are You A Yucca?: Basic Plant Parts

1 hr 15 min. / Suggested for: Pre-Kindergarten / Pre-Kindergarten Academic Standards

Children will travel through the Garden to different plant parts themed discovery stations. At the discovery stations students can pick a seedling, travel through roots “underground” and test to see if different leaves have their own scent, learning through their senses. At the end the students will decide as a group whether or not they are a yucca.

The Magic of Desert Plants: Basic Plant Parts
2 hr / Suggested for: Advanced PreK-1st / Kindergarten Academic Standards

Students discover the magical world of desert plants through a variety of activities designed to captivate young minds. Students learn the role of roots, what is hidden in leaves, a secret about stems, and more.

Desert Buddies: Habitats & Organism Interactions
2 hr / Suggested for: Grades 1–2 / Grade 1 Academic Standards
Students will be intrigued by our unique Sonoran Desert plants and animals and the way they help each other. Students investigate the desert habitat and its interconnections of living things.

Desert Detectives: Lifecyles
2 hr / Suggested for: Grades 1-3 / Grade 2 Academic Standards
Students examine the life cycles of the saguaro, the agave and a cactus wren. Stories and activities teach students about the importance of each stage in these organisms’ lives.

The Secrets of Desert Plants: Plant Parts and Adaptations
2 hr / Suggested for: Grades 2-4 / Grade 3 Academic Standards
Students explore the amazing ways that plants have adapted to the desert environment. Activities help students investigate how stems store water, roots gather water and leaves keep water from escaping.

Science Survival: Scientific Method
2 hr / Suggested for: Advanced 4-6 / Grade 5 Academic Standards
Students go through the steps of the scientific method and simultaneously learn about desert plants. Students need their critical thinking hats on for this tour!

Arizona Plants & People: Relationships between People and Plants
2 hr / Suggested for: Grades: 4-12 / Grade 4 Academic Standards
Students will discover how native plants are used for food, shelter and tools and how people rely on plants today, just as they have for thousands of years.

The Journey of Water: Transpiration
2 hr / Suggested for: Grades 5-7 / Grade 6 Academic Standards
Students investigate the path that water follows through a plant using challenging experiments and field study.

A Key to Desert Plants: Dichotomous Key
2 hr / Suggested for: Grades 6-10 / Grade 7 Academic Standards
Students will explore the Garden as they use a dichotomous key to learn about agaves, wildflowers, cacti, and trees. Using this scientific tool, students will sharpen their observation skills, and learn to correctly identify desert specimens.

Flower Power – the Genetic Journey
2 hr / Suggested for: Grades 7-9 / Academic Standards Grade 8
Students will explore the reproductive process of flowering plants during this tour. Students investigate the structure of seeds, flowers and fruit, match plants with their pollinators and use a Punnett square to cross-genetic traits.

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Self-Guided School Group Visit

Visits for all students (K-12, High School, College)


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Small school groups, high school groups and college groups are encouraged to visit the garden on their own, with their teachers and chaperones serving as guides.

Fees


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Independent Study

Studies for all students (K-12, High School, College)


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What is an "independent study" field trip?


To schedule an independent study project for your students:

Fees


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Marshall Butterfly Pavilion

Add-on for all ages


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A visit to the seasonal Butterfly Pavilion is the highlight of many students’ garden experience.


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