Bok Tower Gardens > News > Open House for Teachers

Open House for Teachers

Category : News   August 30, 2010

Bok Tower Gardens will host its 2nd annual open house for teachers on Saturday, September 25 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. The Garden Campus curriculum that will be presented is tailored to PK-8th grade students and meets Florida Sunshine State Standards, FCAT and Polk County Learning Maps benchmarks. The open house will include breakfast, door prizes and the new teacher guide included in a Gardens’ goodie bag. Each teacher attending the open house also will receive a one-year free individual level membership. Space is limited. Call 863-332-0742 or programs@boktower.org to RSVP by September 21.

Featuring interdisciplinary programs, workshops, field trips and more, the core curriculum component of science and nature is the main focus of the Garden Campus programming, but also covers visual and performance arts as well as culture and history. Teachers will learn about the Garden Campus field trip program for PK-12th grade students. New this year is Conservation Discovery: The Scrub Lupine Project. Student can discover native Florida plant species that are hundreds of thousands of years old during this two-part field trip, designed for grades six through eight. Other field trips include a Nature Explorations Garden Hunt, Pinewood Estate Tour, Watercolor Butterflies, Christmas at Pinewood Kids Tour November 26-January 2, 2011, and Earth Day “Back to Nature” Celebration April 14-15, 2011. All trips and events include the use of picnic areas, large sandbox, vine-covered tunnel, sabal palm tree house and free parking.

Upcoming Garden Campus events for families include the Nature Walk on September 25 at 10 a.m., Tree Climbing October 16 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Night Hike on October 21 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. , and Tree Climbing October 16 In collaboration with the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida, Bok Tower Gardens offers badge programs for Girl Scouts including “Eco-Explorer” and “Plants” for Brownies; “Earth Connections” and “Outdoor Creativity” for Juniors; and “Eco-Action” and “Plant Life” for Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors.

Dedicated in 1929 as a gift from world peace advocate Edward Bok, Bok Tower Gardens is a haven for wildlife with hidden geocaches and rare plants found nowhere else in the world. Nearly 700 acres of conservation lands and gardens surround a 205-foot neo-Gothic and art deco Singing Tower carillon and Pinewood Estate, a 20-room, Mediterranean-style 1930s winter retreat. Children can discover animal rubbing posts, explore secret garden areas and a human sundial located in the Endangered Plant Garden that shows the time of day from a person’s shadow. Discovery backpacks with garden books and activities are available for use at the Information Desk in the Visitor Center.

Call 863-332-0742 or email programs@boktower.org to schedule a field trip.