| The California Botanic Garden in Claremont, is the largest botanic garden dedicated to California native plants, promoting botany, conservation and horticulture to inspire, inform and educate the public and scientific community about California’s native flora. Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Garden is a living museum with curated collections of more than 22,000 California native plants, some of which are rare or endangered. Spread across 86 acres, the Garden is located approximately 35 miles east of Los Angeles. The Garden displays about 1170 taxa of California plants and includes those native to the California Floristic Province. |  |
| The California Botanic Garden offers several educational programs for schools. Schools can choose a Self-Guided visit or a Guided School Visit, both available to all grade levels. The Guided School Visits are led by Volunteer Garden Guides who introduce, demonstrate, and reinforce ideas included in K-8 Common Core standards and Next Generation Science Standards. The primary grade (TK-2) tours are offered on Tuesdays. TK students learn about living things in It’s Alive! as they tour the garden, while Kindergarteners participate in The Big Green Machine: Plants and their Ecosystems and learn about energy and how plants support life on earth. First graders also study plants in Plantastic! What Makes a Plant, a Plant, while 2nd graders participate in Surviving and Thriving: Pollination and Seed Disposal to learn about plant reproduction from pollination, to setting fruit, and producing seeds. Teachers are provided an overview of the programs so they know exactly what the students will study and explore. |
 | Thursdays welcome 3rd to 6th grade students for guided programs. Third and fourth graders participate in Web of Life: The Study of Ecological Relationships and Diversity of Life. They study energy flow from the sun through an ecosystem. Fifth and sixth graders participate in Adaptation and Survival: A Quest for Success. They explore how plants and animals adapt to |
| survive in different habitats. Teacher preparation materials are provided. The Botanic Garden offers guided tours for middle and high school students upon request and based upon staff and volunteer availability. Additionally, home school, scouts, and day camps can also request tours. |  |
| The Children’s Woodland debuted this past spring 2026 and is a unique space within California Botanic Garden where children can explore native habitat, engage in imaginative play, and make a lifelong connection with nature. While the Woodland is not a playground in the traditional sense, the space currently features open space for creative play, balance logs and stumps, sticks and other items for building, rocks and rock fountains for climbing and water play, hammocks for relaxing, a stump circle for reading and gathering, a sensory plant circle for touching and smelling, and benches and picnic tables for resting and connection. Like other natural spaces, the Children’s Woodland will change with the seasons and the years, so watch for new installations in the future! |  |
| The California Botanic Garden supports learning at home and has created interactive worksheets for students and their families to enjoy. The worksheets are downloadable and offered in English and Spanish. Public programs for adults, seniors, youth groups, and college classes are also offered as A Walk in the Garden is always a New Adventure. Participants can discover new sights, sounds, and experiences with a guided tour. The Botanic Garden hosts events and classes throughout the year that celebrate, enrich, and explore our connections to California native plants and the larger natural world. Visit their event page to see what is coming up next. |
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