School Programs

The Gardens educational tours focus on alignment with Pre-School, Kindergarten, Second Grade and Fifth Grade standards.

• Large tours (31 to 60 students) are available April – May & August – October

• Small tours (up to 30 students) are available November – March

Student Fees: $7 per student for most tours. Scholarships are available for schools that are 40 percent or greater Free and Reduced Lunch eligibility (as cited by Colorado or Wyoming State Board of Education for the previous school year).  

Adult Fees: To provide the best experience for your students and for the safety of all visitors, we require between a 1:5 and 1:10 ratio of adults to students. If you meet this ratio, adults will receive free admission. If you have too many or too few adults, ALL adults except teachers will pay the adult group rate of $2 off admission prices.  

 Sensory Garden Tour 

• 90 Minutes 

• Recommended for preschool and unique learning groups 

• Optional: Add the Butterfly House

• Customization: This tour provides a great deal of customization of content and focus depending on what you are learning in the classroom or the unique needs of your group.

Put on your bee and butterfly wings and travel around The Gardens exploring the sights, sounds, textures, smells and colors of the garden. Geared for the younger learner, this program is hands on, fast paced and fun with a focus on observation and exploration. Students will also hear a story, discuss plant needs and plant their very own seed to take home.

Colorado State Standards:

• Preschool - Physical Science 1:1 ; Life Science 2:1 ; Earth and Space Science 3:2 ; Number and Quantity P.CC.A ; Movement Competence and Understanding 1:1

Growing — Plants & Pollinators Tour: 

• Two hours

• Kindergarten

 Animals and Plants can teach us tremendous lessons. Explore the Gardens on Spring Creek and our Butterfly House to learn all about how butterflies and plants grow, what they eat and plant a special butterfly plant to grow at home. 

Stations:

• From Egg to Butterfly: Students embody the process of metamorphous through this imaginative station.

• Butterflies Pollinating: Students explore the Butterfly House looking for butterflies that are nectaring.

• Feed me!  Plant Parts We Eat: Students explore the different parts of plants we eat and play a fun plant parts harvest relay. 

• How Plants Grow: Students model the life cycle of a plant and discover what they need to grow as they plant a seed to take home.

Colorado State Standards:

• Life Science:  2:1 To live and grow, animals obtain food they need from plants or other animals, and plants need water and light.  

• Earth and Space Science: 3:2 Plants and animals meet their needs in their habitats and impact one another.  

• Number and Quantity: K.CC.B couniting and Cardinality: Count to determine the number of objects.  

• Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability: K.MD.B Measurement and Data: Classify objects and count the number of objects in each category.  

• Movement Competence and Understanding: 1:1 Demonstrate body and spatial awareness through movement.  

• Social and Emotional Wellness: 3:1 Demonstrate respect for self, others, and equipment.  3:2 Demonstrate the ability to follow directions.  

Plant-astic Scientist Tour 

• Two Hours 
• Recommended for second grade 

From the smallest seed to the tallest flower, plants feed us, clothe us, heal us and inspire us. How does something so small become so important? Come explore the awe-inspire world of plants as Plant-astic scientists. 

Stations: 

• What Is a Seed? – Students explore the characteristics, parts, functions and adaptations of edible seeds through sorting and dissection activities.
• How Plants Grow – Students model the life cycle of a plant and discover what they need to grow as they plant a seed to take home
• How Seeds Move – Students examine and test the inspiring ways seeds move and are dispersed in the garden.
• Feed me! Plant Parts We Eat – Students explore the process and importance of photosynthesis through a fun active relay.

Colorado State Standards:

• Life Science: 2:1 Plants depend on water and light to grow and on animals for pollination or to move their seeds around.  2:2 A range of different organisms lives in different places.
• Civics: 4:1 Advocate for ideas to improve communities.
• Reading, Writing and Communicating:1:1 Engage in dialogue and learn new information through active listening.   

Pollinators Among Us Tour 

• Two Hours 

• Recommended for second grade

Join us at The Gardens to explore the curious and important world of pollinators! During this program, students put on their community scientist hats and explore the role of pollinators in food production, the process of pollination, our local pollinators and how we can help support pollinators at our homes. Students will plant a pollinator’s favorite plant to take home.

Stations: 

• What’s the Big Deal about Pollinators? – Students investigate the interdependence between pollinators and flowers through modeling and flower dissection.

• Pollinator Community Science – Students become community scientists and learn how to look for and identify local pollinators by their unique characteristics and adaptations.

• Pollinators at Risk – Students become pollinators in this active critical thinking game that challenges them to consider and discuss how humans and nature can positively and negatively affect pollinators.

• Pollinator Stewards – Students visit the butterfly house and learn how to be stewards of their environment by spreading seeds for pollinators. (Students will receive seeds to take home)

Colorado State Standards: 

• Life Science: 2:1 Plants depend on water and light to grow and on animals for pollination or to move their seeds around.  2:2 A range of different organisms live in different places.  

• Math: 2.OA.B. Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Add and subtract within 20.  

• Geography: 2:2 People in communities manage, modify and depend on their environment.  

• Civics: 4:1 Advocate for ideas to improve communities.  

• Reading for All Purposes: 2:2 Apply specific skills to comprehend and fluently read informational texts.   

Taking Flight Tour 

• Two Hours

• Recommended for Fifth Grade 

Become entomologists for the day and enter the world of lepidoptery, the study of butterflies and moths. During this program, students investigate the inspiring and amazing world of butterflies through hands-on science that applies the real work and data scientists are tackling in the field.

Stations: 

• Metamorphosis – Students explore the crazy process of metamorphous and visit our chrysalis chamber in the Butterfly House to see the process firsthand.

• Monarch Migration – Students map the paths of monarch migration through diverse cultures and practice tagging monarchs like scientists.

• Designed for Success – Students experience up close the internal and external adaptations that make butterflies extremely successful pollinators.

• Butterfly Stewards – Students review the importance of butterflies for pollination and make a difference for local butterflies by planting a butterfly plant to take home (Spring) or bringing seeds home (Fall/winter)

Colorado State Standards:

• Life Science:  2:2 Matter cycles between air and soil and among plants, animals, and microbes as these organisms live and die.  

• Social and Emotional Wellness: 3:2 Work cooperatively and productively in a group.  

• Oral Expression and Listening: 1:2 Present to express an opinion, persuade or explain / provide information.  

• Social Studies: 2:2 Examine causes and consequences of movement.  

• Mathematics: 2:5.OA.A. Operations & Algebraic Thinking: Write and interpret numerical expressions. 

Wacky and Wonderful World of Plants Tour 

• Two Hours

• Recommended for fifth grade 

Come explore the wacky and wonderful world of plants with us. There are more than 290,000 different species of plants! Plants unique, beautiful, tasty and necessary for life on Earth! Students investigate the needs of plants, create their own terrarium to take home, explore the adaptations that allow plants to live in harsh environments, play the Photosynthesis game and get to know our native Colorado plants.

Stations: 

• Earth’s Life Support – Students explore the chemical process and importance of photosynthesis through a fun active relay.

• Plants in a Bubble – Students challenge their assumptions and explore what it really takes for plants to grow by creating their own wearable terrarium.

• Hard Core Plants – Students will explore our Undaunted garden to investigate the internal and external adaptations that allow plants to live in harsh Colorado environments.

• Colorado Tropics – Students will walk through the sub-tropical gardens of our Butterfly House and compare these humid-loving plants to our native neighbors.

Colorado State Standards:

• Physical Science: 1:4 The energy released from food was once energy from the sun.  

• Life Science: 2:1 Plants acquire their material for growth chiefly from air and water; 2:2 Matter cycles between air and soil and among plants, animals and microbes as these organisms live and die. 

Spring and fall large school tours (31 to 70 students) are offered April 1 – Sept. 3.
Winter small tours (up to 30 students) are offered: Nov. 1 – March 30.

Student Fees: $7 per student for most tours. Scholarships are available for schools with 40 percent or greater Free and Reduced Lunch eligibility (as cited by the Colorado or Wyoming State Board of Education for the previous school year). 

Adult Fees: All adults except teachers will pay the adult group rate of $2 off admission prices.

Bee-Empathetic Tour

• 2 hours

• Available at The Gardens spring and fall, available in your classroom year-round. Limited to 30 students.

A multi-disciplinary exploration of the science behind bees and pollination. This Field Science program is developed in partnership with Colorado State University’s College of Natural Sciences and Entomology Department. Our experiences are supported by kits that can be checked out for the classroom or explored onsite with garden educators at The Gardens on Spring Creek. Students will take the perspective of an individual species of bee to explore the importance and process of pollination, develop models, collect and analyze data and engineer solutions to real world challenges while building their empathy for these unique creatures. 

Colorado State Standards:

Life Science 2:3; Physical and Personal Wellness 6:2:1, 6:2:4, 7:2:1; Social and Emotional Wellness 7:3:2, 8:3:2; Movement Competence and Understanding 1:3; Social and Emotional Wellness 3:2

Community Science Tour

• 1–2 hours

Students will participate in community science tasks that focus on career skills in The Gardens. Community Science can include: using BudBurst to record scientific data on plants and animals, counting bee species, or planting a seed to take home.

General Gardens Guided Tour (1–2 hours):

• We offer guided walking tours of The Gardens by one of our trained docent or staff members. Tours can accommodate a variety of abilities. Stroll through 12 acres of curated gardens while learning the history of the site.

Green Career Service-Learning Tour:

• 2–3 hours

Students will receive a presentation and tour of The Gardens with a focus on careers that operate within a botanic garden setting. After the tour, students will participate in a service-learning opportunity in The Gardens. Service learning can include: creating seed packets, raking, weeding, pruning, composting, and other opportunities based on The Gardens’ needs.

General Garden Tour

• 3 hours

Healthy eating is easier when you know where your food comes from. Come visit The Gardens and harvest, prepare, eat and reflect upon how food affects us.  During this tour students will prepare and eat their own snack, learn how to plant and grow their own vegetables, and practice mindfulness on a reflective hike through the prairie and foothills.

• Extension Option: Skip the bus and coordinate a bike ride to the Gardens with Safe Routes. Email: saferoutes@fcgov.com

Colorado State Standards:

Life Science 2:3; Physical and Personal Wellness 6:2:1, 6:2:4, 7:2:1; Social and Emotional Wellness 7:3:2, 8:3:2; Movement Competence and Understanding 1:3; Social and Emotional Wellness 3:2

Guided Tours:

• Spring and Fall large school tours: April 1 – Sept. 3
• Winter small tours: Nov. 1 – March 30   

Student Fees: $7 per student for most tours. Scholarships are available for schools with 40 percent or greater Free and Reduced Lunch eligibility (as cited by the Colorado or Wyoming State Board of Education for the previous school year). 

Adult Fees: All adults except teachers will pay the adult group rate of $2 off admission prices.

Bee-Empathetic Tour

• 2 Hours
• Available at The Gardens spring and fall, available in your classroom year-round. Limited to 30 students.

A multi-disciplinary exploration of the science behind bees and pollination. This Field Science program is developed in partnership with Colorado State University’s College of Natural Sciences and Entomology Department. Our experiences are supported by kits that can be checked out for the classroom or explored onsite with garden educators at The Gardens on Spring Creek. Students will take the perspective of an individual species of bee to explore the importance and process of pollination, develop models, collect and analyze data and engineer solutions to real world challenges while building their empathy for these unique creatures. 

This self-guided botany scavenger hunt leads students all over the gardens and through the butterfly house testing their knowledge of plant structures, types and other basic botany knowledge.

Community Science Tour:

• 1–2 hours

Students will participate in community science tasks that focus on career skills in The Gardens. Community Science can include: using BudBurst to record scientific data on plants and animals, counting bee species, or planting a seed to take home.

General Gardens Guided Tour (1–2 hours):

• We offer guided walking tours of The Gardens by one of our trained docent or staff members. Tours can accommodate a variety of abilities. Stroll through 12 acres of curated gardens while learning the history of the site.

Green Careers Service-Learning Tour:

• 2–3 hours

Students will receive a presentation and tour of The Gardens with a focus on careers that operate within a botanic garden setting. After the tour, students will participate in a service-learning opportunity in The Gardens. Service learning can include: creating seed packets, raking, weeding, pruning, composting, and other opportunities based on The Gardens’ needs.

Groups of 10–20 are eligible for group pricing tickets. These tickets must be purchased a week in advance to receive $2 off admission prices.

To schedule a self-guided tour, please email: GardensEducation@fortcollins.gov with your request.