Programs > Programs for Families & Children

Programs for Families and Children

The Botanical Garden is a wonderful place for families and children. To enhance your visit, we offer a number of special programs designed for families with young children.

Discovering Magic in the Garden ↓
Nature Tales: Story Time at the Garden ↓
Nature Explorers Summer Day Camp ↓
The Secret Life of Turtles ↓

Discovering Magic in the Garden

Sunday, May 18, 2008: 2:00 - 4:00 pm

The sixth annual "Discovering Magic in the Garden" will be held on Sunday, May 18, much to the delight of enchanted children and adults. We invite families to dress in their most magical costumes and spend an enjoyable afternoon with us discovering the magic in nature. Activities include Magic Hat Making, Native Tales: Storytelling,Nature's Candy, Natural Homes for Gnomes, Music in the Meadow, and much more.

Fee: $10.00/vehicle (we strongly encourage carpooling!). Pre-registration required (call 919-962-0522). Rain or Shine!

We took photos of some of the Natural Homes made during the 2007 Discovering Magic in the Garden. Click on one photo link at a time, below, then return to the list using your browser's back arrow. Enjoy!

Nature Tales: Story Time at the Garden

Thursdays, 10 - 11 am, beginning April 3, 2008

During the warm months, you and your pre-school child/friend (ages 3 - 5) are invited to share stories about nature and explorations in the Garden. We meet outside, if the weather is good, or in the Paul Green Cabin or the Herb House for a reading circle. Afterward, we enjoy an outing and activity in the Garden. There will be a seasonal theme for each month.
Fee: $5 per family (No more than three children per adult, please!)
Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Nature Explorers Summer Day Camp

Two, week-long sessions

The Garden is bursting with opportunities for exploration! Each summer, we offer exciting opportunities for young nature explorers. The great outdoors is a place for investigation and discovery, as we celebrate Life Forces—Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit. Guest scientists and naturalists help us take a closer look at the many wonders of our natural world.

2008 Nature Explorers Camp sessions:
Session I, 6 - 8 year olds, July 7 - 11
Session II, 9 - 11 year olds, July 14 - 18
8:30 am to 3:00 pm, Monday - Friday, with optional extended day to 4:30.
Fee: $170 NCBG members, $190 others (+ $45 for extended day).

3/3/08: Both sessions are now FULL, but we have a few slots left for scholarship students. Please contact us if you are interested.

Registration: Please call 962-0522 first to reserve a place. Then fill out the registration form[PDF] and mail or bring it to the Garden with your payment.

The Secret Life of Turtles: A Family Workshop

Dates: Sunday, June 8
Time: 9 - 4 pm
Instructor: Bob Palmatier, Local Naturalist/Writer (Certified Environmental Educator)

Ever wonder what turtles are doing when they're not crossing roads or sunning on logs? Explore and learn how many turtles are found in the Triangle area and which species are endangered. This family workshop will include information and observation of live turtles. Bob's work is recognized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, NC Herpetological Society, and NC Museum of Natural Sciences. He encourages a spirit of conservation, good stewardship, and preservation of wild populations and ecosystems. Fee: $22 per family/$12 per individual (NCBG members $20/$10)

Return to PROGRAMS page to find other public programs, such as Lectures, Classes and Workshops, Tours and Hikes, Art in the Garden.

Last updated by Laura Cotterman on May 06, 2008 at 03:01:08 pm.

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What's Happening at Forest Theatre?

June 21, 2008 7:00 - 8:30 pm
A Family Celebration of Summer Solstice

Bring your children to the Forest Theatre in Chapel Hill and join friends of the Ackland Art Museum and the North Carolina Botanical Garden for an hour-long celebration of the Summer Solstice, with songs and stories from around the world. Come dressed to honor the moon and the garden. Featuring storyteller Faye Stanley. Program begins promptly at 7 pm (rain or shine). Free!

This program is presented in collaboration with the Ackland Art Museum.

[Image above, from Ackland Museum:
George Barbier, French, 1882 - 1932: The Season for Mirabelle Plums (Afternoon dress by Redfern), from "The Gazette Du Bon Ton," 1914 ; color stencil print. Gift of Dorothy and S. K. Heninger, Jr.]

Fairy Garden and Fun Things To Do

whimsical water pump in the Herb Garden

At the entrance of the Herb Garden, visitors will find a booklet that encourages the young at heart to take a closer look at the natural world of plants. Children of all ages can have fun while discovering the wonderful nature of herbs in the Zoo Garden, a Fairy Find, a Weather Station, Game Boards, and much more.

Children can find fairies interspersed among the herbs and in the Fairy Garden—a magical enclosed woodland space complete with a small tree house just for the fairies, bells hanging from branches, and a colorful mailbox in which to send letters to the fairies. In this area children are also encouraged to dig with child-size shovels, play tic-tac-toe and hop scotch, or create an environmental art piece with natural objects.