SCHOOL OUTREACH PROGRAMS

Enrich your curriculum and have the Norfolk Botanical Garden come to you with our Suitcase Science outreach programs! Choose from a variety of programs and let one of our Garden Educators lead a SOL based program designed to complement your curriculum. Each program lasts approximately 60 minutes.

Cost:

$100 per class (maximum 25 students), $80 for each additional class on the same day. A $30 travel fee per visit will be charged for locations outside a 30 minute travel distance from NBG.

Availability:

  • School Year Outreach Programs are available October –February, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, 9AM-2PM
  • Summer Outreach Programs are available June-August on Monday afternoons. Only “Plants 101” and “Know Your Niche” are offered during summer months.

To schedule an outreach program, please contact the Youth Education Department  at (757)441-5830 x463 or youthed@nbgs.org Minimum two week advanced registration required for all outreach programs.

Choose from the following programs:

  • Plants 101
    Introduce your students to the world of plants with this exciting, hands-on program led by one of our knowledgeable Youth Educators! Your students will love working to build an 8ft felt veggie garden puzzle and planting seeds to keep in the classroom.
    VA SOL: Science:K.6, K.8, History: K.8b, c English: K.1a
  • Plants and Animals of the Garden
    What is the Norfolk Botanical Garden? Sure we have plants, but did you know that these plants are a very important part of the habitat for our wildlife? We’ll give your students the inside scoop on how our garden grows and how the plants and animals that live here change throughout the seasons.
    VA SOL: Science: 1.4, 1.5, 1.7
  • Plants and People
    How have different environments and resources affected the lives of Native Americans? Let our Youth Educator bring these answers to your classroom through plants and tools used by tribes. (This is a great review for 3rd graders.)
    VA SOL: History/Geography: 2.4,2.8
  • Seeds 101-Plants as a Natural Resource
    From the almost microscopic vanilla bean seed to the 40-pound Coco-de-mer this outreach will show your students that seeds come in all shapes sizes and colors and are used to make many of the items we use every day. VA SOL: Science: 2.8, 3.7, 3.8, 3.10
  • Know Your Niche!
    Liven up your classroom with an introduction to living systems from the Norfolk Botanical Garden! Pass the energy through the food web game, learn about animal adaptations, habitats and niches as we explore the interdependence of plants and animals in their ecosystem.
    VA SOL: Living Systems 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.8, 3.10, 3.11, 4.5
  • Botany 101
    Introduce your class to the study of plants; basic plant cell structure and organelle functions, plant life cycle, parts of a flower, and the process of photosynthesis. Students will learn, and demonstrate, how plant’s energy is passed through the food web, what role they play in their habitat. VA SOL: Science: 4.4, 4.5, 5.1, 5.5