Chicago Botanic Garden

for immediate release

Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation
Science Center Celebrates Opening with Special
Events All Week

International center for plant conservation research
opens to the public Sept. 23

 

Media Only:
For Immediate Release
Gloria Ciaccio
(847) 835-6819, direct
gciaccio@chicagobotanic.org

GLENCOE, Ill. (August 26, 2009) — In celebration of the September 23 opening of the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center, a series of lectures and interpretive programming designed specifically with members and visitors in mind has been scheduled for the week of September 21. This week is dedicated to giving Garden visitors a sneak-peek “behind the glass” and into the Plant Science Center's laboratories and second Lenhardt Library location, which are normally closed to the public throughout the year.

Michael Pollan Lecture Leads Off
Kicking off this extraordinary week will be New York Times contributing writer and best-selling author Michael Pollan giving a lecture titled, “In Defense of Food: The Omnivore’s Solution,” on Monday, September 21, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Ravinia Festival. In this lecture, Mr. Pollan explores what the industrialization of food and agriculture has meant for our health and happiness as eaters, and looks at the growing national movement to renovate the food system. A book signing will follow.

Building Opens to Public
On Wednesday, September 23, the Plant Science Center officially opens to the public, and viewing hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors can walk through the visitor gallery and look through the ribbon windows that line the nine laboratories along the first floor to see Garden scientists in action. This 38,000-square-foot, LEED-certified building will serve as a laboratory and research facility for nearly 200 scientists, research assistants, collaborators, interns and graduate students. Inside, interactive exhibit stations line the viewing gallery, engaging visitors in the fascinating and diverse world of plants and inspiring them to get involved with plant conservation. Many of the exhibits explain the critical work scientists are carrying out in each of the research laboratories.

On Saturday, September 26, and Sunday, September 27, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors will be treated to an “open house-style” viewing of the Plant Science Center including interpretive tours and family drop-in stations where children can participate in plant science-related, hands-on activities. People will have the opportunity to go “behind the glass” and tour the Lenhardt Library’s second location and select labs, including the Population Biology Lab, Plant Systematics Lab, Abbott Ecology Lab, Soil Lab, and Soil Prep Lab, plus the Herbarium—all of which are normally closed to the public throughout the rest of the year. Tours will take place at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. on both days. They will begin at the entrance of the building and end at the Green Roof Garden. Tours will be approximately 30 minutes.

A demonstration cart featuring rain gardens will be stationed at the entrance to the building on the footbridge above the Rainwater Glen. This cart provides background information on rain gardens and on the best plants to cultivate for homeowners interested in installing one in their home landscape, along with "how-to" suggestions.

Family drop-in activities include seed dissection in front of the Dixon Tallgrass Prairie Seed Preparation Laboratory and Seed Bank; pollen and insect activities in front of the Reproductive Biology Lab; Project Budburst activities in front of the Population Biology Lab; and strawberry DNA extraction outside the Harris Family Foundation Plant Genetics Lab.

See the New Green Roof Garden
Horticulture and research staff will be in The Ellis Goodman Family Foundation Green Roof Garden South and the Josephine P. & John J. Louis Foundation Green Roof Garden North answering questions and interacting with visitors from 1 to 4 p.m. throughout the weekend. Dr. Jim Ault, director of environmental horticulture, will answer questions in the Green Roof Garden on Saturday; Green Roof Garden horticulturist Emily Shelton will answer questions on Saturday and Sunday. All weekend long, interpretive volunteers will be stationed throughout the Plant Science Center interacting with visitors, pointing out the building’s highlights and answering questions. From September 23 through October 25, a solar-powered shuttle will pick visitors up at the Visitor Center and transport them to the Plant Science Center and back from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Janet Meakin Poor Symposium Concludes Opening Week
On Friday, October 2, The Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden, in partnership with the Botanic Gardens Conservation International, presents the Global Conservation Science Outreach Symposium: A Janet Meakin Poor Research Symposium, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., in celebration of the Plant Science Center opening. This daylong event features internationally recognized experts discussing global strategies for plant conservation through science and education.

The cost for Michael Pollan’s lecture is $40. Early registration fee for the Janet Meakin Poor Symposium is $79; after August 28, the cost is $119. Chicago Botanic Garden members pay $79. Registration deadline is September 25. To register for Michael Pollan’s lecture or the Janet Meakin Poor symposium call (847) 835-8261 or visit www.chicagobotanic.org/symposia. Admission to other Plant Science Center opening activities mentioned above is free. Parking is $20; free for Garden members. For more information on the Garden’s Plant Science Initiative, visit www.savetheplants.org or call (847) 835-5440.

Corporate support for the Plant Science Center has been provided by Baxter Laboratories, The Abbott Fund and Underwriters Laboratories Inc.

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Editors, please note: The Chicago Botanic Garden's newsroom is online at www.chicagobotanic.org/pr. For digital images, contact Julie McCaffrey at (847) 835-8213 or at jmccaffrey@chicagobotanic.org.

The Chicago Botanic Garden, one of the green treasures of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, is a 385-acre living plant museum featuring 23 distinct display gardens surrounded by lakes, as well as a prairie and woodlands. With events, programs and activities for all ages, the Garden is open every day of the year. Admission is free; select event fees apply. Parking is $20 per car; free for Garden members. The Garden is located at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, Ill. Visit www.chicagobotanic.org, or call (847) 835-5440 for seasonal hours, images of the Garden and commuter transportation information.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is managed by the Chicago Horticultural Society. It opened to the public in 1972 and is home to the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden, offering a broad array of adult classes in plant science, landscape design and gardening arts. Through the Division of Plant Science and Conservation, Garden scientists work on plant conservation, research and environmental initiatives that have global impact. The Center for Teaching and Learning brings the wonder of nature and plants to children, teens and teachers. The Garden's Horticultural Therapy and Community Gardening programs provide nationally recognized community outreach and service programs. A program of the Chicago Botanic Garden, Windy City Harvest is an organic vegetable and plant production enterprise that provides instruction in sustainable horticulture and urban agriculture to residents of Chicago’s North Lawndale and West Side neighborhoods.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a member of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA). The Chicago Botanic Garden is also host to Botanic Gardens Conservation International-U.S., and a member of the Center for Plant Conservation. In 2006, the Chicago Botanic Garden received the Award for Garden Excellence, given yearly by the APGA and Horticulture magazine to a public garden that exemplifies the highest standards of horticultural practices and has shown a commitment to supporting and demonstrating best gardening practices.