Educational Programs 2015-16 Find Your
Place Discovery Inspiring Playful Gathering Healthy Authentic Nature Peaceful Music Secret
School Programs Building on more than 85 years of excellence, Bok Tower Gardens provides authentic and engaging educational experiences. Our goal is to connect and engage learners of all ages through quality programming that fosters appreciation, builds knowledge, and cultivates a sense of wonder. Bok Tower Gardens offers students rich experiential opportunities. Our new student-led discovery Adventure Field Trip Program offers a number of themed, guided adventures aligned with state standards.
Field Trips Guided Adventures
Download your FAQ and Garden Explorations packets to make the most of your visits. boktowergardens.org/tools The Bok Tower Gardens Education Department aims to provide three core values through its offerings:
• Authentic, Engaging Experiences • Academic Excellence, Integrity & Respect • Accessibility for All Audiences
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Become a Citizen Scientist Grades 3 –5
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2 Time Traveler
Grades K–3
See the elaborate sundial at the base of the Singing Tower as your students chart the equinox and solstice. They will use their compasses to determine the direction of the Tower and use models to investigate why it might not line up in the direction they first hypothesized. Finally, they will study the analemma in the Endangered Plant Garden and see how the tilt of the earth and its elliptical orbit can be used to tell the month of the year from just a shadow.
Building Character
$3 additional per student Grades K–12
$7 per student and teacher/ chaperone. One free adult for every five students.
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The Joy of Bugs
Grades K–3
Choose from the field trips described below. Your class trip can be modified to fit the grade level of your students and the time you have available. Programs emphasize student-led discovery through a variety of hands-on activities and guided explorations. Programs are cross‑curricular and align with state standards.
Registration and more information: boktowergardens.org/learn 863.734.1221
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Math in the Gardens
Grades K–3
Watch your students become entranced with math as they find shapes, patterns, transformations and reflections in the stunning Tower and Gardens. Enjoy seeing your class play with perspective as they take the Tower Challenge. Optional add in: students examine the remarkable gardens surrounding the Singing Tower and use measurements to design their own garden beds in a challenge with increasing levels of difficulty. This is a great project to launch or revitalize your school garden.
Students will learn teamwork, courtesy and kindness as they work together to solve challenges they cannot solve alone in this team-buiding course. Include a picnic lunch and a walk to the Tower to give each student a chance to reflect on their own character and imagine how they will make the world a bit better and more beautiful. This is a three-hour program with a minimum of 30 students. For middle and high school grades, this trip can be combined with a treeclimbing challenge for an additional fee.
See your students gain appreciation for living in this remarkable region when they make the Pine Ridge Preserve the center of their visit. Learn about the remarkable and rare plants of the Lake Wales Ridge ecosystems and the ways that Bok Tower Gardens’ Rare Plant Conservation Program is working to save them. Your students will work in teams to collect data while exploring the high and dry Pine Ridge Preserve. Students perform the tasks of zoologists, geologists, botanists and hydrologists. Optional add in: compare the Ridge ecosystem with the wetlands at Circle B Bar Reserve by collecting and comparing data from both locations.
Bug lovers and those who find them a bit icky will all have fun as they learn the key features of insects and arthropods, use a visual key to identify common insects, and go on a hunt for pollinators. Students may survey the garden for pests and beneficial insects. They will collect data on monarchs and dragonflies for scientists around the world working to save these species.
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Growing Writers
Grades 3–5
Use Bok Tower Gardens and the extraordinary story of Edward Bok to motivate and inspire your students. Explore the Gardens from the Singing Tower to the Pine Ridge Preserve with a writer’s eye, collecting observations, facts, and comparisons for your students’ own work of historical fiction.
Self-Guided Explorations (Grades PK–12) Teachers and parents are welcome to bring students of all ages for self-guided visits. The “Garden Explorations” packet is available for K-5 teachers to help you make the most of your visit. $3 per student and $7 per teacher/chaperone. One free adult for every five students. Add self-guided Pinewood Estate tours to any field trip for $5 per person, excluding the Holiday Home Tour.
Professional Development To inspire and support teachers in their goals to instill a sense of wonder, awe and pride in students, Bok Tower Gardens offered its first teacher symposium in the summer of 2015. Participants attended seminars on a diversity of subjects relevant to the Gardens including conservation, garden design, horticulture and history, as well as research-based information about best practices in experiential education. Teachers then pursued their interests individually or in interdisciplinary teams as they wrote lesson plans designed to provide students with
experiential learning opportunities and structured student choice, as well as link learning with fun and exploration. Watch for information about our second teacher symposium during the summer of 2016 and make plans to get involved. Additionally, please join us for various professional development opportunities throughout the year, a few of which are listed here. For a complete schedule, please see our Programs & Events Guide or visit us at boktowergardens.org.
sep
19 AND
feb
20
Vegetable and Herb Gardening 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Join local expert Ray Cruze and learn the basics of planting your own garden, from seed starting to harvesting. This interactive class includes a hands-on project to take home. $35 per participant. Reservations required. jan
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Glades to Gulf Floria Wildlife Corridor Expedition Film Screening
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Join the Florida Wildlife Corridor team on the second leg of their trek from the Everglades past the Panhandle to Alabama’s Gulf Coast. This expedition highlights stories of ecological importance, including longleaf pine restoration and the health of the Gulf fishery. Join us for a special presentation of the new film followed by a reception of drinks and light fare.
jan
Primary
23 Permaculture 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
28 Earth Day AND
apr
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
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Celebrate Earth Day at Bok Tower Gardens! Students participate in hands-on activities by environmental exhibitors from around Central Florida and learn about protecting wildlife, water conservation, gardening and more. One teacher wrote, “Bok Tower is a beautiful place to visit, and combined with the Earth Day Celebration it was a win-win.” An exhibitor said, “I wanted to personally write and tell you how much we enjoyed coming out. Thank you for organizing this opportunity to reach so many students.” $7 per person (one complimentary adult admission for every 5 students)
boktowergardens.org 863.734.1222
Join us for a day-long introduction to the basic concepts of permaculture, led by herbalist Emily Ruff. Rapidly growing in popularity, this unique ancient system is a way of growing food that minimizes labor and increases crop yield. Participants will interact with living examples of plant guilds and polycultures and learn about permaculture ethics and garden designs. A take-home project is included in this program. $75 per participant. Reservations required. jan
The Garden as a Wildlife
30 Sanctuary:
Learning How to Look at the Living Layers 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. Nationally-recognized author, photographer and design consultant Rick Darke will illustrate how an understanding of living layers and biodiversity can be put to practical use in the making and maintenance of home gardens and community landscapes. Rick’s presentation will feature photography at Bok Tower Gardens and related Florida landscapes. $10 per person. Reservations required.
$15 per person. Reservations required.
apr
Adult registration and more information:
Discovery Days Summer Camps for Kids Discovery Days is a series of stimulating day camps for children ages 6-12 filled with discovery, exploration and imagination to keep young minds actively engaged and learning through the summer months. Informal, week-long sessions for each age group feature activities to help children discover the world of Bok Tower Gardens through art, science, cooking, gardening and sensory explorations. In the summer of 2016, we will offer four week-long camps including a cooking-themed camp in our new outdoor kitchen. All sessions include engaging instruction by master teachers, healthy meals, and plenty of mental exercise. Children don’t even know they’re learning—they are simply making friends and having fun while exploring the Gardens.
Bok Tower Gardens Environmental Heroes Book Collection
Bok Tower Gardens Environmental Heroes Quilt Project
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Borrow an environmental hero biography from Bok Tower Gardens.
Upper elementary and middle school students are invited to participate.
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Fill out a super short book review to go on display in the Discovery Center.
Your Mission: To create a quilt that will inspire the next generation of environmental heroes.
Steps to complete:
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Turn in your book review to get a blank quilt square along with suggestions, inspiration, and the rules for having your part included in one of our Earth Day Quilts.
More Opportunities Scout Progams and Home School Groups
The Gardens Book Club
Service Learning
Bok Tower Gardens is a world-class outdoor classroom. We would love to work with all Boy Scout, Girl Scout, home school and 4-H groups to provide opportunities for field trips, activities to earn badges, and other educational experiences. Let us plan a custom trip for your group!
Students set goals and receive seed packets as they meet their goals. The group meets once a month to share about the books they have enjoyed and tour a different section of the Gardens.
Opportunities include monitoring rare species or removing non‑native, invasive species.
To support area schools as they teach students to make the world a more beautiful place, Bok Tower Gardens is pleased to offer the loan of a 24-copy set of biographies aimed at young readers. Ideal for a range of reading levels from upper elementary to middle school, the collection can be used to address language, scientific, and social studies standards.
Research on science education processes indicates that biographies of scientists have a significant positive impact on student understanding. Even better, biographies have been shown to improve students’ perspective on the importance of effort over inborn talent.
School Program Registration How to register:
Find our field trip information request form online at boktowergardens.org/education. For more details contact the Education Department. Reservation details:
Reservations must be made at least three weeks in advance and paid as a group to receive group rates. Individual passes and member discounts may not be combined with group rates. Chaperones are encouraged! One complimentary teacher/chaperone is earned for every five students. Picnic & nature activity area, restrooms, and water fountain are available near the bus parking on a first‑come, first-served basis.
Contact Us Educational Programs
boktowergardens.org/education 863.734.1221 Adult Tickets & Reservations
Membership
boktowergardens.org/membership 863.734.1233
Bok Tower Gardens, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, is supported by tax-exempt gifts and contributions and is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
CTP/1M/0815
boktowergardens.org/tickets 863.734.1222
