Have you ever walked outside and wondered: Why are flowers different colors? Why do plants grow in certain places but not others? Why do herbs smell? If so, then you are a wonderfully curious person who may enjoy stopping by the Arboretum’s Discovery Booths.
Coordinated by Arboretum education staff and volunteers, Discovery Booths allows visitors to freely explore natural concepts and phenomena in a hands-on way. The drop-in activities are designed for visitors of all ages to explore the many unique and fascinating aspects of the natural world at the Arboretum.
Photo by Zoe Bakken-Heck
This summer, visitors can explore with their senses through activities including Nature Soundscapes, Touch and Feel Nature and Smelly Plants. Later in the season, we’ll be investigating trees, including searching for leaves, looking at the inside of trees and learning about their relationships with insects. And of course, there will be activities on flowers and seeds! Visitors can investigate a flower and dissect its parts, learn how plants spread their seeds and even make art with fruit slices.
Photo by Annie Klodd
Visitors can check out the Discovery Booth every Thursday and Sunday from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., May 1-Oct. 26, on the Snyder Building’s Morgan Terrace. The Discovery Booth also pops up at celebrations throughout the year. This past spring, the Discovery Booth celebrated National Learn About Butterflies Day with activities all about Minnesota’s state butterfly, the monarch. For Arbor Day, visitors investigated tree rings and decorated tree cookies. During the winter, the Discovery Booth teamed up with the Andersen Horticultural Library’s StoryTime to deliver a whole morning of entertainment for little ones.
Photo by Zoe Bakken-Heck
Occasionally, the Discovery Booth and team travel off-site to local festivals or events such as the State Fair. This gives us the chance to share our knowledge with others in new ways, and build interest for the Arboretum — as well as nature in general — with others who may not be able to make it out to the Arboretum regularly.
It’s important to build a connection with nature from a young age and continue to engage with the natural world throughout your life. That’s why, though many Discovery Booth activities are geared toward kids, it’s a place for all ages! Planting seeds, looking through microscopes and making pinecone bird feeders, visitors of the booth can do it all. At the Discovery Booth, you are always sure to learn something new, and maybe even take something home with you!
Cover photo of the Discovery Booth by Annie Klodd
Zoe Bakken-Heck is the Visitor Learning Program Specialist at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Zoe coordinates the Discovery Booth program and the Guided Garden Tours and helps develop other drop-in, family-friendly materials for the Arboretum.