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Programs and Resources

USBG Program

You can become an Apprentice Junior Botanist by asking for an Adventure Folder for exploring our Conservatory. Bring along an adult adviser with an official ID (e.g., a driver's license) so you can check out a backpack filled with cool tools to use during your explorations. Follow up your visit to the USBG with at-home activity and then apply to become not just an apprentice, but an official USBG Junior Botanist. The program is free. + Learn More

Second Annual D.C. Teachers Night at the USBG
Thursday, October 30, 6:00 to 8:30 pm
Explore the exhibits of 40 DC environmental educators and organizations, share ideas and discover the beautiful ambiance of the US Botanic Garde after hours. Learn how to get connected to great environmental education opportunities that are immediately available to you and your student. Co-sponsored with The DC Environmental Education Consortium (http://www.dcnaturally.org). There is no charge but please RSVP by October 24, 2008 to Kevin.schabow@noaa.gov or call 410-295-3145.

Middle School Environmental Debate
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Mark your calendars and call us today to register your middle school for this year's environmental debate. Topics will include usage of bottled water, the need to eat locally grown foods, the need for off-shore oil drilling, and the use of crops for fuel. Free debate training will be provided by the DC Urban Debate League on September 20. Background materials for the debate will be provided by the USBG. Call Lee Coykendall at 202-441-0231 to register or for more information.

School Garden Wizard

A School Garden offers a wonderful, creative space in which children of all abilities can achieve something real that is valued by others. School Garden Wizard has been created for America's K-12 school community through a partnership between the United States Botanic Garden and Chicago Botanic Garden. Click to visit the School Garden Wizard website.

Linking Our Lives to Plants" Curriculum

The USBG Public Programs Division has developed a flexible curriculum for grade levels 2 - 8+ to guide adult leaders and students through a set of activities that will help students learn about plants and the ways they support human societies and our environment.

The curriculum is available as a PDF file for download.

Slow Life
An on-line guide to the lives of plants based on the traveling exhibit develop by the USBG, Chicago Botanic Garden, and Indiana University. Click here to visit [http://plantsinmotion.bio.indiana.edu/usbg/]

Other Programs and Resources

The Fairchild Challenge

The U.S. Botanic Garden’s Fairchild Challenge is an environmental education outreach program designed to increase students’ knowledge of and interest in the environment through a series of multi-disciplinary challenges. This year's USBG Fairchild Challenge is open to all middle and junior high school students in the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and in the charter school system. The Challenge can complement your school’s curriculum and empower your students. Incentives include cash awards for top-performing schools’ environmental programs. Participation is free! Learn More ...

How Plants Work: A Guide to Being Green Exhibit Curriculum

The USBG Public Programs Division has developed a curriculum for grades 3-5 that corresponds with the How Plants Work Exhibit in the East Gallery of the Conservatory at theUnited States Botanic Garden. Through larger-than-life models, interactive features, and a host of live examples, this exhibit reveals the secrets of how plants – seemingly sedentary organisms – manage to survive in every corner of the planet. Companion online curriculum materials feature standards-based activities to engage students before, during, and after their visit. The intent of the How Plants Work Exhibit and its corresponding curriculum is to challenge students to explore, think, and come up with their own questions and conclusions about how plants work and the various ways plants impact human life. Learn More ...

Plants In Print

The advent of book publishing ushered in an exuberant age of plant exploration and discovery. Plants in Print: The Age of Botanical Discovery is a collaboration between the United States Botanic Garden and the Chicago Botanic Garden to share the rich history of botany and plant exploration with a nationwide audience. Click here to visit the Plants in Print: The Age of Botanical Discovery exhibition website.

School Field Trips

The U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) invites teachers and students to explore a remarkable resource. The USBG Conservatory and exhibits are open to the public everyday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Teachers are welcome to bring students to visit the USBG for their own educational activities, or to use one of the programs described under Visit Options and Resources on the Field Trip Preparation page. No advance reservations are required although we ask that you check our home page for advice of any planned closures or other special event notices as the date of your trip approaches. Please call the Public Programs staff at (202) 225-1116 with any questions. More...