Other Education Programs at the Arboretum
The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden welcomes families and young learners of all varieties to come and enjoy our beautiful and educational gardens. Our out-of-school options include summer camps, family and group overnights and a variety of scout programs.
Closing the Gap 5th Grade STAAR Review Series
Presented by Reliant
5th Grade
April 2-May 7, 2022 from 9:30-11:30am
The Education Department at the Dallas Arboretum is in a unique position to provide support in your efforts to close current learning gaps caused by Covid-19. With our proven hands-on approach to learning, our Closing the Gap 5th Grade STAAR Review Series will place focus on some of the more highly tested TEKS and boost the confidence of your student scientist – all with authentic garden connections!
Info & Registration
Cost Per Program
6-week Series Nonmembers: $120
Individual Session Nonmembers: $25
6-week Series Members: $100
Individual Session Members: $20
Each event includes full student access to Main and Children’s Adventure Gardens.
Sorting Out Mixtures
April 2, 2022 from 9:30-11:30am
Students will first differentiate between heterogeneous mixtures and solutions. They will then work in groups to create mixtures from a collection of beads and make observations of the physical properties of the mixture as compared to the physical properties of the ingredients. Students will then explore soil as a mixture and investigate the ingredients that make up soil.
TEKS Process Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
TEKS Readiness Standards 5.5(A)
TEKS Supporting Standards 5.5(C)(D)
Register for Sorting Out Mixtures
Garden Art – Reflections & Refractions
April 9, 2022 from 9:30-11:30am
Students will complete three investigations to explore how light travels. They will then be challenged to use what they learned about light to design a prototype of an art piece for the Dallas Arboretum.
TEKS Process Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
TEKS Readiness Standards 5.6(A)(C)
TEKS Supporting Standards 5.6(D)
Landform Formation
April 16, 2022 from 9:30-11:30am
Students will first make observations of landforms and then work in groups to use stream tables to model and describe how wind, water, and ice lead to the formation of sand dunes, valleys canyons and delta.
TEKS Process Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
TEKS Readiness Standards 5.7(B)
TEKS Supporting Standards 3.7(B)
Register for Landform Formation
Exploring Day & Night
April 23, 2022 from 9:30-11:30am
Students will first observe a video of the Sun setting and discuss the question: Does the Sun move across the sky? Students will then create a model to show that Earth rotates on its axis once approximately every 24 hours to cause the day/night cycle and then create another model to show how people on Earth experience day and night.
TEKS Process Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
TEKS Readiness Standards 5.8(C)
TEKS Supporting Standards 4.8(C), 5.8(D)
Register for Exploring Day & Night
Eco Flow
April 30, 2022 from 9:30-11:30am
Students will listen to a story about a forest ecosystem, work with group members to differentiate the living and nonliving things in the story and then describe how the components of a forest ecosystem interact. Students will then observe live organisms in a terrarium (tarantula, walking sticks, pill bugs or bess beetles) and identify the living and nonliving components of the terrarium and how these components interact.
TEKS Process Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
TEKS Readiness Standards 5.9(A)(B)
TEKS Supporting Standards 3.9(A), 3.10 (C), 5.10(C)
Amazing Adaptations: Plants
May 7, 2022 from 9:30-11:30am
Students will first observe, discuss and compare the structures and functions of a variety of plants that have different roots, stems and leaves. Students will then read about a Texas environment, identify which plant would grow best in that environment and explain why.
TEKS Process Standards 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
TEKS Readiness Standards 5.10(A)(B)
TEKS Supporting Standards 3.9(A), 3.10(C)
Girl Scouts
Reserve your Girl Scouts’ spots in a Dallas Arboretum Educator-led program, designed to help Scouts accomplish all requirements to earn badges or book a self-guided tour.
Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts can experience a self-guided tour or leaders may choose to complete badges in the garden. Reservations required.
Other Programs
walkSTEM at the Dallas Arboretum
Join us for an exciting new way to experience the Dallas Arboretum through the lens of math and science. Stop by the Main Garden information booth and pick up a self-guided walkSTEM at the Dallas Arboretum guide and begin your adventure.
Programs for Children During Festivals
During Autumn at the Arboretum and Dallas Blooms, parents can bring their children to Mommy and Me Mondays and Tiny Tot Tuesdays for face painting, music, petting zoos and other seasonal fun. Family Fun Fridays offers the same exciting programming during Summer at the Arboretum. Free with general admission.
Summer Camps
Dallas Arboretum Summer Camps provide children ages four to rising 6th graders with hands-on explorations in STEM and nature that will spark their imagination and inspire environmental stewardship. Find your place in nature!
Homeschool Family Programs
Expand your homeschooling curriculum through hands-on experiences at the Arboretum! Parents are welcome to observe classes or participate with students. After the program, explore the rest of the Main Garden and the Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden, included with your reservation.
