The North Carolina Arboretum

The Arboretum offers your students unforgettable experiences in science that are interactive, educational and fun! Content is aligned with NC science standards, and each presentation includes pre- and post-activity materials to enhance your curriculum. For a stand-out science experience, Arboretum Outreach is your best resource!  Programs are $125.00 and last 45 minutes to one hour. We request a minimum of two programs per visit outside of Buncombe County.  We can travel up to one 1/2 hours from Asheville.  Outreach visits must be reserved at least two weeks in advance. 

The Wonders of Trees
Invite an Arboretum Naturalist to your school to share with you the wonders of trees.  Hold a pinecone as big as your head!  Create a scale model of the biggest tree in the world!  We’ll examine items from trees around the world, and head outside and learn fun facts on the trees around your schoolyard.  Teachers are encouraged to allow students to do leaf and bark rubbings and leaf collections.  An indoor and outdoor space is recommended.  A pre-visit to your schoolyard by one of the Arboretum staff may be necessary to customize the lesson for your class. Available April - October.

Classroom Critters
Would you like to have an Arboretum Naturalist visit your classroom with some live animals? This program features indoor and/or outdoor games, live animal demonstrations and fun facts on the animals found in the Southern Appalachians.  An emphasis is placed on the relationships these animals have with plants in their environments.  Skulls, furs and other amazing items will also be brought along.  This program requires an indoor space.

Peculiar Plants
Some plants eat bugs!  Some plants have leaves that fold when touched!  Some plants have very weird ways of spreading seeds!  A wide variety of strange and interesting plants will be brought along to your classroom for children to observe and enjoy.  Students will learn about the strange adaptations some plants have devised for survival, and learn about some very odd ways plants deal with predators.  Children will also learn about how some plants reproduce and how others have strange symbiotic relationships with one another.  A great way to get you students excited about studying plants!

School Yard Ecology
This guided experience will acquaint students with the principles of ecology and the technology used in measuring and estimating populations of organisms as part of the All Taxa Bio-Inventory.  This program provides an overview of living organisms and ecosystems of the world and Western North Carolina.  From games to study plots and macro-invertebrate studies we have something appropriate for grades 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, and 9 –12.  All grades will get to use GIS technology, study invasive species and conduct soil analysis to determine why some areas have more biodiversity than others. 
(Made possible by a grant from RENCI in cooperation with NEMAC)

Our Dynamic Earth
Experience a thunderstorm indoors!  An outreach presentation suited for grades 1, 2, 4 and 5. Students will learn about climate and weather and the technologies used in today’s world by scientist to make predictions and prepare for disaster.  This show will present the principles of moving air, force, pressure, temperature, energy from the sun, changes of matter and state, properties of solids, liquids and gases, acid rain and climate effects on populations and geology due to human activity.  This program can be presented to grades 6 and 8 with the addition of global climate change, global warming and dimming and a historical look at man’s use of energy.

(Made possible by a grant from RENCI in cooperation with NEMAC)