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Something's always growing and there's always something new to
discover at the Conservatory!
Garfield Park Conservatory is a fantastic place to bring family members of all ages. Something’s always growing, and there’s always something new to discover! To make your “growing” experience here even more enjoyable, we offer a number of special educational opportunities FREE for kids and families! Come visit the
Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden, which is open during normal Conservatory hours, or visit us during one of our scheduled activity times.
Are you bringing a birthday party or community group to the Conservatory? Please refer to our “Children's Birthday Parties & Community Group
Visits” section below for more details about participating in our weekend programs with your group.
Family meetup groups consisting of over 10 adults and
children wishing to visit the Conservatory and/or participate in
our programs must contact the School and Group Program
Coordinator at 773-638-1766 x.25 at least three weeks prior to
their visit.
Pre-registration for groups is required.
Please note: all scheduled activities are subject to change.
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Weekend Family
Fun:
Discover the Power of Plants!
Saturdays & Sundays
Date: Year Round*
Time: Drop in anytime between 11 am - 4 pm
Location: Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden
Cost: Free
Plant an pretend garden, build a tropical habitat, help water our plants, or read a book under our tropical canopy - there is always something at the Conservatory to keep minds active and curiosity growing. Drop in each weekend and join the fun!
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Please note: Due to holidays and special programming, there will be no family programs on the following weekend dates: Nov. 26-27, Dec. 24-25, Dec. 31-Jan. 1, April 28. |
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Family
Make-&-Take Activity
Saturdays & Sundays
Date: Year Round*
Time: Drop in anytime between 1 pm and 3 pm
(Drop-in activities usually take 15-20 minutes and no registration
is required.
Location: Elizabeth Morse Genius’ Children’s Garden
(Activity will be stationed near the giant seed in the
Children’s Garden)
Cost: Free, Donations welcome
Make something unique to take home while learning about plants. This season’s projects include terrarium ornaments, herbal tea bags, beeswax candles and more. Projects take 15-20 minutes to complete. Drop in any time before 2:45 pm.
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Please note: Due to holidays and special programming, there will be no family programs on the following weekend dates: Nov. 26-27, Dec. 24-25, Dec. 31-Jan. 1, April 28. |
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Discovery Dig Wednesdays
Wednesdays, November 2-April 25
Hours:
Drop in any time between 3 pm and 6 pm
Where:
Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden
Cost:
Free! Just drop
by!
Join us every Wednesday afternoon in the Children’s Garden for an open exploration in our popular “Dig Pit.” Families have the chance to get their hands dirty by digging for dinosaur bones and fossils, planting pretend gardens, and many other rotating activities. Touchable plants and kid-friendly interactives will also be available.
The Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance is proud to be a part of Michelle Obama’s
Let's Move! Gardens and Museums initiative.
Visit the Let's Move website and learn the facts about America's move to raise a healthier generation of kids!
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Please note: due to holidays, there will be no Discovery
Dig program on December 28. |
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Wild
Wednesdays
Last Wednesday of Every Month
Hours:
3 pm to 6 pm (drop in anytime!)
Where:
Sugar from the Sun Room
Cost:
Free! Just drop
by!
Throughout the season, we are celebrating “wild things” with live animal presenter
Scott Heinrichs.
Come out and ask Mr. Heinrichs questions about each animal and get a close-up look at some
fascinating critters. A discovery dig and additional activities will also be available. (Please note: These additional animal activities will only be available November-April. During May-October, Wild Wednesday participants are welcome to attend our Little Green Thumbs program in our outdoor vegetable garden, also taking place on Wednesdays from 3-6pm.)
Please Note:
Animal guests may change without notice.
October - Join us for Creature Feature Nights on October 19th and 26th from 3 pm to 6 pm throughout the Conservatory!
November – Fennec fox
December – No program due to the holidays
January – Chinchilla
February – Rodents (a guinea pig, mice, a rat)
March – Toucan
April – Hedgehog and tenrec (small mammal from Madagascar)
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Tropical Treat Nights
Wednesday, February 8 and Wednesday, February 15
Hours: 3 pm -
7:30 pm
Where: Throughout the Conservatory
Cost: Free – just drop by!
Enjoy a tasty treat while learning about the “sweet plants” of the Conservatory. Fact and flavor stations will be staffed by educators throughout the Conservatory, featuring chocolate,
chicle, vanilla, cinnamon, chewing gum, banana and more. Come taste your way through our tropical paradise!
Additional activities include:
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Interactive Tropical Tunes served up to you by Sandy Lucas, a favorite in the world of children’s music. For these special February Wednesday evening events, join Sandy and friends for an interactive sing-n-dance-n-jam along concert in Horticulture Hall.
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Hands-on activities, including homemade paper ukuleles, tissue paper leis, Valentine’s day cards and more. (Activities subject to change)
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A special chocolate-tasting lounge, free to members and
$5 for visitors.
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Tropical Treat Nights are replacing Sweet Saturdays, a large annual event that has been cancelled for 2012 due to room closures at the Conservatory.
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Children's
Birthday Parties & Community Group Visits
Location: Conservatory
Cost: Call
Have you visited the Conservatory and thought it would be a great place for your child’s birthday party or to bring your community group? Great idea! We welcome birthday parties and community groups here at the Conservatory, however there are a few details you need to know to make your trip more successful for everyone.
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At this time, we unfortunately do not
provide any private birthday parties or events led by
Conservatory staff. However, there is an outside animal
presenter that is approved to make on-site visits at the
Conservatory. If you are interested in having a live
animal come to your birthday party at the Conservatory,
you can contact Scott Heinrichs from Walk on the Wildside
at 773-823-1466 or
flyingfoxconservationfund.com. (Please note: a room must be rented
if you are going to hire Walk on the Wildside for your
party).
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You can rent one of our rooms here to hold your birthday party by contacting Joan Colon at 312-746-5250 or joan.colon@chicagoparkdistrict.com.
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Your party is welcome to participate in the public ongoing weekend activities (See Kid & Family Fun for details). You can also pickup scavenger hunts for your group at the front desk free of charge.
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Your group can play in the dig pit in the Children’s Garden (11am - 4pm) and participate in the Make-and-take activity (1pm -3pm). Children’s Garden programs are drop-in activity sessions. No pre-registration is required.
We suggest a donation of $1 per child to cover the cost of materials.
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All visitors are served on a first come, first served basis. Due to limited resources, we cannot guarantee birthday parties and large groups participation (20 or more) in the make-and-take program. If you decide to participate in these programs, please split your party up into groups of 6 or less.
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Birthday Parties and community groups that wish to participate in the weekend programs must call ahead to inform the Family Programs Coordinator of when their group will be coming to the Conservatory.
773-638-1766x23.
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Children must be accompanied by their adults at all times inside the Conservatory.
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During your party, please be considerate to other visitors so that everybody can enjoy the Conservatory spaces.
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Group of 10 or more must register with our School and Group Trip Coordinator, Yadira Correa at 773-638-1766x25.
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Any questions about participating in the weekend public programs, please contact Kelly Katzmann at 773-638-1766x23 or
kkatzmann@garfieldpark.orga>.
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Origami Open House
Presented by the Chicago Area Origami Society
Second
Saturday of Each Month (except February)
Hours:
Drop in anytime between 1 pm - 4 pm
Where:
Conservatory
Cost:
Free
Origami is a fascinating, fun-filled creative
activity for children as well as adults. With a minimum of folds
and creases, you can transform a flat sheet of paper into a
three-dimensional form like a swan, a boat, a flower or even a
hat.
So, if you're interested in creating animals, dinosaurs,
flowers, decorative boxes and various other models, please join
us.
Every second Saturday of the month in the Conservatory’s
Classroom, the Chicago Area Origami Society presents a free
drop-in Origami Open House to our visitors. Please drop by — both
kids and adults are welcome, but children must be accompanied by
an adult. Experienced folders welcome as well. Also, though
there will be a limited supply of paper available, you are
encouraged to bring your own. The workshop is FREE and OPEN to the public.
For more information, please contact Robert by e-mail at
robertcubie@earthlink.net, or visit their website:
www.home.earthlink.net/~robertcubie/origami
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Eye Spy
Conservatory Hunt
Download the PDF
Make the most of your family visit to the Garfield Park
Conservatory; before your next trip to see us, download this
free
Garfield Park Conservatory Scavenger Hunt PDF, and print off
a sheet for each member of your family.
Not only will your kids enjoy hunting for answers, but their
experience will also be active and engaging. Your family will be
introduced to some of the most intriguing and unique plants the
Conservatory has to offer. Good Luck!!
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Chicago Wilderness’s Leave No Child
Inside
New Website
As a Chicago Wilderness
member, we’ve always known that connecting children with nature
is the first step to conserving our natural heritage for the
future. We’re now learning that this connection is just as
important to healthy childhood development. That’s why we are a
part of Chicago Wilderness’s Leave No Child Inside, a multi-year
initiative to improve children’s health and foster generations
of children that care for nature.
Chicago Wilderness' new web site at
www.KidsOutside.info
is just for the Leave No Child Inside initiative. Throughout the
initiative, this site will be a resource for parents and other
caregivers with fun ideas on where to go and what to do outside
with their kids.
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More Information
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For more information on Family Programs or to
volunteer in the Children's Garden email
Kelly Katzmann at
kkatzmann@garfieldpark.org or call (773)
638-1766 ext. 23.
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