Learning made fun!
Explore connections between nature, art and people together. We’ve highlighted a few of our favorite activities for children of all ages – just click on the toggle button to see what sparks your curiosity today.
We’ve also included a selection of family activity videos from our YouTube channel, where you will find more video resources to continue your Gardens learning journey at any time, in any location.
So, what would you like to do today?
Explore Duke Gardens
Bumble Bee Watch is a collaborative effort to track and conserve North America’s bumble bees. Upload photos of bumble bees; identify the bumble bees in your photos and have your identifications verified by experts; help researchers determine the status and conservation needs of bumble bees; help locate rare or endangered populations of bumble bees; learn about bumble bees, their ecology, and ongoing conservation efforts; and connect with other citizen scientists.
Map your way to chickens, veggies, herbs, etc
Make new discoveries as you observe your way through the Gardens! Come back another day and notice how your observations change. You can do these activities anywhere; this is a suggested route for you to try. Use a Duke Gardens map to find the locations listed in this interactive exploration.
eBird data document bird distribution, abundance, habitat use, and trends through checklist data collected within a simple, scientific framework. Birdwatchers enter when, where and how they went birding, and then they fill out a checklist of all the birds seen and heard during the outing. eBird data have been used in hundreds of conservation decisions and peer-reviewed papers, thousands of student projects, and to help inform bird research worldwide.
For children in grades K-8, ecoEXPLORE combines science exploration with kid-friendly technology to foster a fun learning environment for children while encouraging them to explore the outdoors and participate in citizen science. Duke Gardens is an ecoEXPLORE HotSpot!
Each card provides a way to explore a different aspect of Duke Gardens and fun facts about the natural world. Explore your favorite spots in new ways or use the cards to discover new things in the garden. You can use any card in any location.
FloraQuest connects you with everything you need to know about naturally occurring plants in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S.: interactive keys that use your location to streamline the process of identifying plants; an illustrated glossary to decipher botanical terms; full descriptions of species, varieties, subspecies, genera and plant families; references, identification notes, images, and distributions; and a way to record plants you find, with photos, dates and location, and browse others’ records.
Find yellow flowers, ducks, bridges, etc.
Welcome to GLOBE Observer, an international citizen science initiative to understand our global environment. Your observations help scientists track changes in clouds, water, plants and other life in support of climate research. Scientists also use your data to verify NASA satellite data. And by submitting your observations, you can help students of all ages do real scientific research as part of the GLOBE Program.
Look for sculptures, bridges, fountains, etc.
iNaturalist.org is a place where you can record what you see in nature, meet other nature lovers, and learn about the natural world. Every observation can contribute to biodiversity science, from the rarest butterfly to the most common backyard weed. We share your findings with scientific data repositories such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility to help scientists find and use your data. All you have to do is observe.
Can you guess what is in each picture? Can you find what you see here—or something similar—in the garden?
If you’ve ever wondered, “What is that bird?” let Merlin help you unlock the mystery. Merlin asks you a few simple questions about your observation and taps into eBird, a database with millions of sightings from birders around the world, to find out what species you’re most likely to encounter. Browse Merlin’s short list of photos to find your match. Listen to sounds, learn more about where the species lives, tell your friends about your new bird, then go find another bird to identify.
Nature’s Notebook gathers information on plant and animal phenology across the U.S. to be used for decision-making on local, national and global scales to ensure the continued vitality of our environment. Scientists alone cannot collect enough data: They need your help. Nature’s Notebook is a project of the USA National Phenology Network.
Make new discoveries as you observer your way through the Gardens!
Make new discoveries as you observer your way through the Gardens!
Make new discoveries as you observer your way through the Gardens!
Use these observation drawing techniques to see what you can discover about an object you find outside.
Plants tell a story about our changing climate. Phenology is the science of tracking a plant. The timing of a plant leafing, flowering and fruiting is affected by temperature, rainfall and day length. A worldwide network of citizen scientists is being created to track the changes in plant seasons, and you can join through Duke Gardens. The data will go into an international resource, the Plant Phenology Network, to assist scientists studying climate.
Find something bumpy, something buzzing, something shiny, etc.)
Actividades en español
Aprende sobre los animales que son Maestros del Disfraz.
Aprenda sobre plantas comunes. Embárcate en tu propia aventura con las plantas con estas guías para aprender, explorar y hacer manualidades.
Aprenda sobre plantas comunes. Embárcate en tu propia aventura con las plantas con estas guías para aprender, explorar y hacer manualidades.
Aprenda sobre plantas comunes. Embárcate en tu propia aventura con las plantas con estas guías para aprender, explorar y hacer manualidades.
Zine (voz inglesa) es una publicación casera que todxs podemos crear y compartir. ¡Hoy te invitamos a crear una zine sobre “la historia de un insecto!”
¡Todo ser vivo necesita agua para sobrevivir! Aprende más acerca este líquido con tres actividades que enganchan sus sentidos a través del arte y la ciencia.
¡Sé un artista y un científico recogiendo muestras de tierra para crear tu propia pintura
Un video con instrucciones y más información (con subtítulos en español)
Sé músico y científico con esta actividad.
Un video con instrucciones (video solo en inglés)
Todos los días, el Museo de Vida y Ciencias compartirán contenido digital para proporcionarle formas interactivas de aprender, hacer preguntas y descubrir la vida y la ciencia de maneras nuevas y emocionantes.
Discover the power of plants
Aprenda sobre plantas comunes. Embárcate en tu propia aventura con las plantas con estas guías para aprender, explorar y hacer manualidades.
Aprenda sobre plantas comunes. Embárcate en tu propia aventura con las plantas con estas guías para aprender, explorar y hacer manualidades.
Find out how plants are named and what the different naming conventions mean.
Learn how to use field guides.
A food web is a way to show how living things get their energy, from other living things, light or chemicals. Each member of the web is dependent on the ones they get their food from. The sun is the beginning of many garden food webs.
In 2019, scientists learned about 102 new species of plants and 8 species of fungi. Scientists think that some of the new species may help provide us with new food, materials or medicines. Many of the newly named plants and fungi only live in small areas and are close to extinction. Scientists hope that learning more about them will help their survival.
The food we enjoy and share can be an important part of our heritage. Making food can be a fun way to connect with other people in our family and community.
Dandelions are herbs that first grew in Eurasia. Where plants first grow is often referred to as their native location. Europeans brought dandelions with them as they traveled and colonized the world and dandelions now grow in many temperate regions. A temperate region is an area with a mild climate.
Los dientes de león son hierbas que crecieron primero en Eurasia. Donde las plantas crecen primero, a menudo se denomina ubicación nativa. Los europeos trajeron dientes de león con ellos a medida que viajaban y colonizaban el mundo y los dientes de león ahora crecen en muchas regiones templadas. Una región templada es un área con un clima templado.
Did you know that grass has flowers? The grass family is one of the largest families of flowering plants. The scientific name for the grass family is the Poaceae family. There are more than 10,000 named species of grass in the world.
¿Sabías que la gramíneas (el césped) tiene flores? La familia de las gramíneas, o gramíneas es una de las familias más grandes de plantas con flores. El nombre científico de la familia de las gramíneas es la familia Poaceae. Hay más de 10,000 especies de gramíneas en el mundo.
Get to know this common plant that grows in many places!
¡Llegar a conocer esta planta común que crece en muchos lugares!
Think about some of the things you eat each day. How many of them come from plants?
Grab your crayons, markers or color pencils and make a Zine with plant heroes – bugs!!
Plants have many different forms. Lawn grass, maple trees, rose bushes, and cactuses all have very different shapes and sizes! But most plants share the same basic parts.
Use this passport to learn from plant stories told by local Black and Indigenous community members, explore the garden, and record your own thoughts. You might not see these plants today, but we hope you build a relationship with the plants you find around you! While completing these activities, remember to leave things as you found them and do not pick or eat the plants. Learn from an expert in foraging and medicinal plants before you try to use plants like this at home. If you have any questions please ask one of Duke Gardens’ staff or volunteers and we would be happy to help you. We’re rooting for you!
Answer the questions in this quiz to find a plant in Duke Gardens that fits your personality.
Experiment with plant pigments as a material to make your own art. Plant pigments are what give plants their color. For example, green leaves get their color from a pigment called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy from sunlight.
Plant Power: The Power of Plants in a Changing Climate, a podcast series brought to you by the North Carolina Botanical Garden. Through interviews with some of North Carolina’s finest naturalists, explore the conversation about native plants and their connection with our changing climate. Each episode is focused on providing resources to listeners to mitigate climate change impacts in their community. Tune in to our 6 episode mini-series for information on topics like land conservation, protecting our pollinators, and turning to nature as a source of healing.
PDF resource from the Xerces Society.
Sé músico y científico con esta actividad.
Un video con instrucciones (video solo en inglés)
Duke Gardens strives to be water-conscious at every turn, from our recirculating water features to rainwater collection and plant care. As water becomes an increasingly overused and ever-dwindling resource on a local and global scale, it is vital that substantial measures be taken to ensure its conservation. Here are some ways that Duke Gardens practices responsible water use.
All plants need space to grow, the right temperature, light, water, air, nutrients, and time. Most also need soil.
Bring beautiful plants into your home in winter.
Learn about animals & insects
Today, at your sit spot, you are going to closely observe one animal.
Migration is movement from one place to another. Find out how animals move from place to place.
Bumble Bee Watch is a collaborative effort to track and conserve North America’s bumble bees. Upload photos of bumble bees; identify the bumble bees in your photos and have your identifications verified by experts; help researchers determine the status and conservation needs of bumble bees; help locate rare or endangered populations of bumble bees; learn about bumble bees, their ecology, and ongoing conservation efforts; and connect with other citizen scientists.
Learn about the animals that are Masters of Disguise.
Aprende sobre los animales que son Maestros del Disfraz.
Aprende sobre los animales que son Maestros del Disfraz.
You can use art to play a game! This game is full of surprises, and you and the people you play with will create new creatures.
Learn how to use field guides.
A food web is a way to show how living things get their energy, from other living things, light or chemicals. Each member of the web is dependent on the ones they get their food from. The sun is the beginning of many garden food webs.
Discover the moths that live around your home!
Grab your crayons, markers or color pencils and make a Zine with plant heroes – bugs!!
How do animals stay warm in winter?
Make a craft
You can use art to express yourself, just like with talking or writing. This is your chance to let other people know what your community means to you.
Help feed the birds – especially in the winter.
Be an artist and a scientist by collecting soil samples to create your own paint!
¡Sé un artista y un científico recogiendo muestras de tierra para crear tu propia pintura!
Create your own art-making tools with natural materials!
¡Sé un artista y un científico recogiendo muestras de tierra para crear tu propia pintura
Un video con instrucciones y más información (con subtítulos en español)
Grab your crayons, markers or color pencils and make a Zine with plant heroes – bugs!!
Be a musician and a scientist with this activity.
Sé músico y científico con esta actividad.
Bring beautiful plants into your home in winter.
Have fun at home
Today, at your sit spot, you are going to closely observe one animal.
Gardens are living communities, and they need different things over their whole life to stay healthy. There are many things gardeners do to care for their plants.
Living things are adapted to live in many different kinds of environments. Their bodies look very different from one another and they have different skills. Some are huge: blue whales can be over 80 feet long. Others are tiny: bacteria are too small to see without a microscope. Some have bodies for climbing, like sloths. Some create their own energy and stay in one place, like trees.
Gardens can be a place where communities get the things they need, right in their own neighborhood. Gardens can be a place where communities get the things they need, right in their own neighborhood.
A sit spot is a special place outside that you choose. It’s a place you can return to everyday, where you can settle in, be comfortable and use your senses to observe the world around you.
Some scientists collect data just like you do when you visit your sit spot and make observations. People use research to learn many different things, and it can provide useful information to communities. Sometimes researchers need community members to help them do their research. This is a chance for you to record your observations and help researchers!
Discover and celebrate all the talents that you, your family, and the rest of your community have! Your community is all the people, living and non-living things that support you.
Today you are going to do a survey of everything in a 1-foot square of land in your sit spot.
The food we enjoy and share can be an important part of our heritage. Making food can be a fun way to connect with other people in our family and community.
All living things need to get energy in order to live – people eat food. Where does your food come from?
A map is a diagram that represents an area of land or sea on a small scale. Maps can show the entire earth or just a small part in great detail. They give information in a simple visual way. They show what’s in an area, and where things are in an area using symbols. They help you organize information.
Usually people paint with colorful paints, but you can also paint with just water!
There are many types of gardens and reasons to garden. Gardens can grow food for people, create beauty, provide food and habitat for wildlife, prevent flooding from rainwater, attract pollinators, prevent erosion, and more. Gardening can be hard work and it can also be a fun physical activity. Can you think of other kinds of gardens or reasons to garden?
Experiment with plant pigments as a material to make your own art. Plant pigments are what give plants their color. For example, green leaves get their color from a pigment called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy from sunlight.
A mosaic is a type of art in which small stones, glass, tiles, or other small pieces of material are put together to make a whole picture. Archeologists have found mosaics dating back more than 5000 years. By putting seeds together to create a pattern or an image, you can use seeds to make a mosaic.
Explore your environment for seeds that can be germinated.
Family Activity Videos
Discover more ways to explore the Gardens in our resource library.
Learn More ›
Questions about activities for children & families?
Please contact us at 919-668-1707 or GardensEducation@duke.edu.