Virtual field trips deliver Garden learning to your classroom through an online meeting platform of your choice. Each program includes a kit of materials and a 45–60-minute investigation of NGSS-related phenomena led by a Garden educator. Programs are at 12:30 or 1:30 p.m. (maximum 1 program per time slot).

Field Trip workshops must be booked a minimum of three weeks in advance; full payment is due at time of scheduling. Select Workshop Topic upon checkout. Please call our field trip registrar if you have any registration questions: (847) 835-6801

Once your program is booked, a Garden educator will reach out to arrange delivery of materials and online meeting connection.

To ensure the quality of the experience, schools may not combine multiple classrooms into one program.

Grades K-12

Discovering Plants (Grades preK – K)
30 – 40 minutes
How do the parts of a plant help it get the things it needs to grow? Transplant a flowering plant and get ready to take care of it at home.
IELDS: Science Learning Standards 12.A and 12.B
NGSS: K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1

Sneaky Plants (Grades K – 1)
How and why do plants change the spaces they live in? We will show you places in the Garden where plants have affected their environment and challenge you to figure out why.
NGSS: K-ESS2-2, 1-LS1-1, 2-LS2-1

Flower Lab (Grades 2 – 4)
What is the reason for a flower, and how does it do its job? Watch a gorgeous video of blooming plants at the Garden, and then become a scientist in your classroom, doing a guided flower dissection on a real flower to understand what the different parts do.
NGSS: 2-LS2-2; 3-LS1-1; 4-LS1-1

Carnivorous Plants (Grades 4 – 6)
What's going on with these plants that eat bugs?! We grow carnivorous plants at the Garden: sundews, pitcher plants, and Venus fly traps. We will introduce you to them and guide you through an experiment understand what plants need to live and grow, and why these plants trap insects.
NGSS:  4-LS1-1; 5-LS2-1; MS-LS1-4

Hydroponics Challenge (Grades 6 – 12)
Can you make a system to grow plants in water? Take a video tour of the Windy City Harvest’s aquaponics system, learn the basics of growing plants in water, and then work with a Garden educator to design a small system hydroponics system in your classroom.
NGSS: MS-LS2-4; MS-ETS1-1, 2, 3; HS-ETS1-1,2,3

March 20 – June 10, 2022 (no programs May 30, 2022)