Green Machine; Pre-K - 1st
Through a big book story and hands-on activities, children learn about plant parts, their functions and basic needs. They will each plant their own seeds to take back to school for further investigation.

Ready to Rock!; Pre-K - 1st
A story and lots of hands-on material and activities will introduce your children to the world of geology. Through exploration and instruction, your students will investigate, sort and experiment with a wide variety of rocks and fossils and learn many amazing new things about our planet Earth.

Awesome Plants; Pre-K - 1st
A big book story and hands-on activities introduce your students to the importance and beauty of plants. They will use models and real plants and flowers to learn the reason for each plant part and how flowers make seeds that will become new plants.

Pumpkin Circle (Fall only); Pre-K - 1st
A story, video and hands-on activities explain to children the life cycle of a plant from seed to flower to fruit to seed again. The perfect ending for this lesson is a walk through the Arboretum’s pumpkin patch and a visit to our pumpkin village.

Wings and Tails (Spring only); Pre-K - 1st
In this class, young children will delight in investigating life cycles through storytelling, drama and hands-on activities. Students will explore life stages from egg to butterfly and from tadpole to frog using a variety of materials including live animals in all stages of growth.

Butterflies and Blossoms: 1st - 3rd
A short video, a book and real flowers help students discover the basic needs of plants and animals, their interdependence and the fascinating stages of the butterfly life cycle.

Earth Explorers 2nd – 4th
Explore the world of rocks and fossils and discover how soils are formed. Experiments and hands-on discovery make this a great class to enrich your earth science curriculum.

H2 Oh!: 2nd - 4th
Students investigate the properties of water, the water-cycle and the different forms of water through experiments, a book and a variety of interactive, hands-on activities.

Plant Power: 2nd - 4th
A short video, real plant parts and hands-on activities help students explore the structures and functions of the parts of a plant and investigate the life cycle of the flowering plant.

It’s a Bug’s Life: 2nd - 5th
Through a short video and hands-on activities, students explore insect metamorphosis. They learn the common characteristics that all insects share and investigate their behavioral and structural adaptations using models and real specimen.

Blowing and Flowing, 3rd – 5th
Investigate slow changes to the Earth’s surface caused by weathering, erosion and deposition. Hands-on activities and exciting investigation help students understand how new landforms including plains, valleys and mountains are formed.

Systems for Survival: 3rd - 6th
A short video, instruction and hands-on activities help students understand the interdependence of systems within systems. They will explore food chains, food webs and predator/prey relationships using interesting material such as skull models and animal pelts. A great class to help prepare students for the TAKS test!

The Restless Earth 3rd – 6th
Investigate rapid changes to the Earth’s surface caused by volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides and Tsunamis. Investigations and hands-on activities will help students understand the role of plate tectonics and how new landforms including mountains, valleys, canyons and islands are formed.

Adapted for Life 3rd – 6th
Through instruction and hands-on investigation students explore the structures and diverse adaptations that enable plants and animals to survive and thrive in dramatically different environments and examine the difference between inherited traits and learned behaviors. Exciting investigations and real materials make this a great class to help students understand TAKS concepts.

Special Request Program: Pre-K – 6 th
Interested in a topic that you don’t see listed here? Additional programs are available, including custom designed labs on soil and the Rock Cycle and more! Our staff educator will work with you to design a  program that meets your students specific needs.