Ready, Set, Grow!: Pre-K – 1st Grade-Download Tour Packet

This introduction to Idaho Botanical Garden encourages young students to use their senses to explore nature. During this lesson they will compare plants to themselves, learn about plant parts, meet a pill bug, and go on an exploratory walk through the Garden.

Wonders of the Water Cycle: Kindergarten – 1st Grade

The water cycle plays a major role in determining day-to-day weather. Through song, role-playing, a colorful experiment, and a nature walk, children gain a concrete understanding of what the water cycle is all about.

Habitats – 1st–2nd Grade

Students are introduced to Garden plants and animals, and they discuss what those living things need to survive. Tour includes a song, a game, and a walk.

Flower Power (May Only): 2nd–3rd Grade

Students participate in activities emphasizing the structure and function of flowers. Each student will help Idaho Botanical Garden bloom by planting a flower.

Seed Sense (Fall Only): 2nd–3rd Grade

Participants germinate and grow a fresh understanding of the importance of
seeds─their structure, function, and dispersal methods─through a variety of
instructional outdoor activities.

Lewis and Clark: 4th Grade

During a tour of the Lewis and Clark Native Plant Garden, students will discuss the purpose of the expedition and acquire an increased awareness of and appreciation for the role plants played in the lives of Idaho’s Native Americans and the Lewis and Clark Expedition members. They will practice conducting scientific plant research and will take back to school a plant sample to turn into an herbarium specimen.

Nature’s Garden: 4th–8th Grade

This tour is designed to awaken a naturalist’s curiosity about Boise Foothill ecology. The students on this ¾ mile hike will interpret the environment and discover the vital role plants play in this sagebrush ecosystem.

Fire!: 4th–8th Grade

This tour discusses the role plants play in Idaho’s wildfires. Topics include native versus non-native invasive plants; factors that make a plant more, or less, flammable; and how to protect homes from wildfires.

Custom Tours, Elementary–Post-Graduate

Would you like to bring a group out to the Garden for a guided tour but none of the listed topics suit your needs? Contact (208) 343-8649 to request a custom tour. Let us know what you would like the guides to cover and we will work with you to create a tour that meets your interests.

$45 members
$60 non-members

Ages: 7-9 (20 kids total)
Camp time: 9am-5pm 

Do you want to give your child a new experience this year but can’t swing the typical summer camp pickup times? This one is for you, working families! Welcome to our one-day magic camp for aspiring witches and wizards. From 9a-5p, campers will experience all the fun of our regular wizarding camps including fairy garden design, Quidditch, and wand crafting. (P.S. Don’t tell the muggles!)

$80 members
$105 nonmembers

Ages: 5-6, 7-9 (20 kids in each age group)
Camp time: 9a-noon

How do you measure a year? In snowballs, in rainstorms, in flower buds, or hibernation? Join the Idaho Botanical Garden this week and experience seasons of fun! Campers will make instant snow, dissect flowers, and learn how to overwinter with local wildlife.

$80 members
$105 nonmembers

Ages: 5-6, 7-9 (20 kids in each age group)
Camp time: 9a-noon

G’day, campers! It’s time to put on your hiking shoes, grab your binoculars, and go on a backyard exploration. Discover the critters who live in Idaho’s dry deserts, deep canyons, green forests, and rocky mountains. You may even find some amazing things living in the big city!

$80 members
$105 nonmembers

Ages: 4, 5-6 (20 kids in each age group)
Camp time: 9a-noon

Does the thought of a worm make your stomach churn? Are you shy around a fly? Would you ever hug a slug? Come explore the world through the eyes and senses of all things creepy crawly and discover how cool these creatures really are.

$80 members
$105 nonmembers

Ages: 5-6, 7-9 (20 kids in each age group)
Camp time: 9a-noon

Pack your bags and get ready for a week of world travel with some amazing plants and animals! Swim upriver with a salmon and take a turn around the globe with an Arctic tern. Surf the seas with a coconut and discover how many food miles your dinner travels before it reaches your plate.

$80 members
$105 nonmembers

Ages: 5-6 (20 kids total)
Camp time: 9a-noon

Calling young witches and wizards! Come hone your magical skills and explore the mysteries of the natural world during the Idaho Botanical Garden’s half-day wizarding camp. Create your own fairy garden, play Quidditch, and learn about transfiguration from some very knowledgeable pond critters.

$150 members
$200 non-members

Ages: 7-11 (20 kids total)
Camp time: 9a-4p

Expecto some major fun on a STEM-based trip to Hogwarts. Visit Herbology, Potions, and more as we fly our broomsticks through the real science. Your camper will spend the mornings at the Idaho Botanical Garden and the afternoons at the Discovery Center.

Class Sold Out! To be placed on the waiting list, shoot an email to education@dcidaho.org with the following info:
-name of parent
-name of camper(s)
-phone number
-email 

$80 members
$105 nonmembers

Ages: 4, 5-6 (20 kids in each age group)
Camp time: 9a-noon

…And it tastes so good! See how human and animal food comes from dirt. Dig in the dirt, plant seeds, harvest vegetables, sing songs, and meet an earthworm.