Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

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Education

Learning is at the heart of virtually every program of Fairchild
Tropical Botanic Garden. Educational opportunities are
available for all ages, including general and specialized
audiences, locally and around the world.

School Programs*

Explorer Program
Children and teachers enjoy interactive, hands-on field studies,
a narrated tram tour, and plant their own botanical souvenir.
This program offers Sunshine State Standards-based, guided,
grade specific tours for grades K-5 students. Teachers receive
key curriculum materials designed to introduce science-based
concepts and allow for student-learning evaluation.
The field studies coupled with pre and post-visit material is
designed to enhance your students FCAT performance and
environmental understanding. Learn more>>

Discovery Guided and Self-Guided Programs
Facilitated activity stations serve as the focal point for a unique learning
experience at Fairchild. Teachers use the Discovery stations as a basis
to explore science, art and technology. Based on Sunshine State Standards.
Learn more>>

*Programs are offered to schools only from October through May.

The Fairchild Challenge for Middle Schools
and High Schools

Designed for students of diverse interests, abilities, talents, and backgrounds, the Fairchild Challenge is Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's environmental education outreach program for middle and high schools. With separate but parallel programs for grades 6 to 8 and 9 to 12, it is composed of multidisciplinary competitions aligned with Sunshine State Standards benchmarks. This free annual program is open to all schools in the Greater Miami area. Last year more than 25,000 students from 91 schools participated.

All middle schools earning more than 700 points and all high schools earning more than 900 points will be presented with the 2008 Fairchild Challenge Award at our awards ceremony on Friday, May 9 (for high schools) and Saturday, May 10, 2008 (for middle schools). Additionally, students and teachers receive Challenge T-shirts and family passes to Fairchild, and the 16 top-scoring schools are awarded $250 to $1,000 for their environmental programs. Learn more>>

Teacher Professional Development

Teacher training accredited through Miami-Dade County Public Schools includes intensive summer courses, in-service and Saturday training programs carried out during the school year. For more information, email awalker@fairchildgarden.org or call 305.667.1651 x 3325. Learn more>>

Adult Education

Continuing Education (non-credit)
More than 150 classes are offered annually. These classes highlight horticulture, conservation and the environment of South Florida as well as art, cuisine and natural history. Programs also include tours to the Everglades, Florida Keys and other environmentally significant sites. Courses emphasize local gardening and other popular interests such as botanical art and landscape design. Learn more>>

Graduate Studies
Fairchild has graduate programs leading to M.S. and Ph.D. degrees awarded by local universities, Florida International University and the University of Miami. Graduate students carry out thesis research with an FTBG researcher in various areas of tropical botany. Learn more>>

Research Seminars
Technical seminars (lectures) are presented occasionally by local and visiting scientists. These present recent research results in the botanical sciences and are free to students, enthusiasts and professionals.

Professional, Specialized and University Courses
Fairchild offers professional training in Florida botany and horticulture, with courses on topics such as plant propagation, taxonomy, botanical documentation, and conservation of endangered species.

Cooperative relationships with Florida International University (FIU) and the University of Miami (UM) allow Fairchild botanists and FIU/UM faculty to serve as research scientists for both institutions, and several university classes are taught at Fairchild. Other university-level courses offered at Fairchild include courses by senior faculty of the University of Florida.

Community Outreach

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is actively involved in reaching out beyond garden walls to the citizens of Miami-Dade. Fairchild staff members present lectures to various groups, and bring display materials to community fairs and events throughout the year. Fairchild collaborates with several other partner environmental organizations, non-profit groups, and educational institutions in Miami-Dade. For more information, contact awalker@fairchildgarden.org or call 305.667.1651 ext. 3325.

Fairchild also hosts monthly meetings of several plant societies, to which the public is invited to attend (click here for schedule). The Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Living Collections and Garden Landscapes Hotline is a free telephone plant information service available to the public. Phone 305.667.1651 ext. 3317 or email: Horticulture@fairchildgarden.org. To facilitate answering your question, please indicate your city and state in your message.

Volunteering

If you are interested in volunteering in the Fairchild's Education-Center for Teaching and Learning, please contact Arlene Ferris at 305.667.1651 (ext. 3314) or Sandy Schoenfeldt (ext. 3324). You may also send an email to aferris@fairchildgarden.org or sschoenfeldt@fairchildgarden.org to find out more about becoming an Education-Center for Teaching and Learning volunteer.