School Programs K - Grade 7

Please remember that a visit to VanDusen’s popular Elizabethan Maze is not incorporated into your 90 minute guided program. If you plan to go to the maze, please do so either before or after your program.

Seed Secrets: K – Grade 3 (Oct. – Nov.)

Seeds fly, float, hitchhike – and even travel though the stomachs of birds – all in order to spread to new places and grow. Students explore the Garden in search of seeds with parachutes, hooks or fleshy fruit surrounding them. Students will dissect seeds and make travelling seeds cards to take home. This tour also includes an investigation into the many signs of the fall season.

Curriculum Connections: Life Science

• Kindergarten: Characteristics of Living Things
• Grade 1: Needs of Living Things
• Grade 3: Plant Growth and Change

Ecosystems & Adaptations: Grades 4–7 (Oct. – Nov. and Mar. – June)

Within the tranquil beauty of VanDusen exists a complex and intimately connected ecosystem. During a mini–Bioblitz, students find plants and animals living in the Garden and investigate how they are interrelated. Students will also examine the structural adaptations that plants have evolved to survive and thrive in different environments.

Curriculum Connections: Life Science

• Grade 4: Habitats and Communities
• Grade 6: Diversity of Life – Adaptations
• Grade 7: Ecosystems

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A Sense of Nature: K – Grade 2 (Oct. – Nov. and Apr. – June)

Rough, smooth, stinky, dark green, pointy… As they explore the garden, students describe and compare similarities and differences among plants using as many of their senses as possible. Through fun, hands–on activities, students identify key parts of plants, play the Maple Leaf Match–up, make their own sticky trail card, and more!

Curriculum Connections

• Kindergarten Processes of Science
• Kindergarten Life Science: Characteristics of Living Things
• Grade 1 Processes of Science
• Grade 1 Life Science: Needs of Living Things
• Grade 2 Processes of Science

Fantastic Flowers: Grades 1–3 (Apr. – June)

As students enjoy the beauty and fragrance of flowers throughout VanDusen, they investigate the parts of a flower, their role in pollination, and how pollination fits in the life cycle of flowering plants. Students will search for pollinators in action, explore the interdependence between pollinators and plants, and their role in food production. A visit to the beehives is included.

Curriculum Connections

• Grade 1 Life Science: Needs of Living Things
• Grade 2 Processes of Science: Use their senses to interpret observations
• Grade 3 Processes of Science: Ask questions that foster investigations and explorations relevant to the content
• Grade 3 Life Science: Plant growth and change

Pond Peering: Kindergarten – Grade 4 (Apr. – June)

Hidden beneath the surface of VanDusen’s ponds, lakes and streams is a diverse world of beautiful and strange life. Students explore and learn about the pond environment, use nets to dip into a pond and identify the creatures they find.

Curriculum Connections: Life Science

• Kindergarten: Characteristics of Living Things
• Grade 1: Needs of Living Things
• Grade 2/3: Animal Growth and Change/Plant Growth and Change
• Grade 4: Habitats and Communities

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Thanks to generous support from RBC Foundation®, if you are coming from an inner city school you may be eligible for a FREE bus (up to $300) to bring you to and from VanDusen Botanical Garden. Contact us for more information.

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Many schools choose to plan and conduct their own day at VanDusen Botanical Garden. You are very welcome to use the Garden to reinforce your classroom teaching - be it science, math, social studies or art. A visit to the maze is also a must!

We are happy to offer maps and a sample of self-guided activities to assist you during your visit. These will be sent to you upon registration.

To book your self-guided trip, just call us at 604-718-5898. No registration form necessary.

Cost:
Sefl-Guided Visits
$4.00/student (HST included)

One adult per 4 students is admitted free of charge as part of the group. This includes both teachers and chaperones. Additional adults will be charged the student rate of $4.00.

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Once you choose a program and pick potential dates for your visit, you have two options:

1. Print the downloadable registration form. Fill in the form and fax it to 604-263-1777, or scan and email to school programs.

OR

2. Call 604.718.5898 or email school programs and provide the following information:
• Program Name
• Date and time (10 a.m. or 12:30 p.m.) of program and alternative dates
• Grade level and number of students (max. 30 per time slot)
• School name, address and phone number
• Contact name, phone number and email address
• Any special needs or ESL students

Once you have booked your trip, you will receive a Field Trip Reservation form which you must complete and return to VanDusen Education with a $60.00 deposit to secure your booking.

After we have received your deposit we will email you a confirmation letter and field trip pre–visit package.

• School Programs Registration Form
• School Program Information Booklet
• School Program Quick Reference Sheet

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