Chicago Botanic Garden

Education

Teacher Programs

PHOTO: Field Trip at Plant Science Center

We invite you to enhance your knowledge, enrich your teaching techniques, and enliven your classroom while earning professional development and graduate credit. Join us for our teacher workshops offered every season:

summer programs

fall programs

winter programs

spring programs

Custom Workshops

PHOTO: Teacher Programs

Staff in the Center for Teaching and Learning can develop custom workshops to be delivered at your site. Teachers, staff, parents, and volunteers can all learn grade-appropriate techniques for integrating plant-based learning
into the curriculum. Please call (847) 835-8253 for more information about scheduling and pricing.

rave reviews

“Wonderful ideas, resources, and projects to incorporate into the classroom — great workshops.”

“I go back to school and share what I’ve learned with my students. They get so excited to learn the facts that I’ve discovered. I plan to incorporate activities where they fit in to the curriculum.”

“Inquiry based — Hands-on activities. Definitely applicable to the classroom. Relatable to what we need to teach the kids and encourage a love of science.”

upcoming programs:

School Gardening Conference
Solving Problems with School Gardening
June 29 at the Chicago Botanic Garden
8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Fee: $95
Lunch (optional): $18

Grade level: PreK-12
CPDU credit: 7.5

Program schedule and session descriptions

School Gardens present many challenges and opportunities. From a practical perspective, starting and maintaining a school garden requires a coordinated effort among school and sometimes community members. School gardeners face many decisions and challenges planning and maintaining the garden. Once you have the garden, it can become a living laboratory for science investigations and other curricular connections.

This year’s school gardening conference will provide helpful advice for the practical side of growing a successful school garden and also share activities and lessons that use the garden to teach problem solving and other thinking skills. Join us for a fun day filled with presentations and hands-on activities presented by teachers and professionals in the field that offer practical ways to keep your garden growing and inquiry-based lesson ideas that get your students using the garden to understand nature.. Enjoy the keynote presentation by Sharon Danks author of the book Asphalt to Ecosystems: Design Ideas for Schoolyard Transformation, who will show you how your efforts to confront the challenges and opportunities with school gardens are shared by educators all over the world. Bring your questions and “ask the experts” during a panel discussion.

Bring your own lunch, purchase lunch on-site in the Garden’s Café, or purchase your lunch ahead of time for $18.

One CPS Lane credit and one graduate credit (additional fee) are available if the conference is taken with the School Garden Road Trip on July 13. Call 847-835-8253 for more information about this option.