This is part of the new Science in Our Park Series. Come to the Arnold Arboretum and be a scientist! Get your hands onto scientific tools, use your observation skills and share your findings with others.

Census Challenge will test your categorizing and observational skills. Join us in the North Woods and help us catalog the diversity of living organisms found in a small area. You will be surprised!

One adult may bring a maximum of three children; suitable for children ages five and up. This is a drop in activity. The North Woods...

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Before using a chainsaw, it is best to understand all of its parts, built in safety features, maintenance requirements, and the forces in play once you rev its small but powerful engine. If you own a saw, bring it to class. If you don’t own a saw but intend to purchase one, wait until you’ve attended the class to learn which styles and features are best for your size and needs. Participants should bring safety goggles, gloves, and ear protection. Dress for the outdoors and bring a snack and beverage. This class is designed for beginners or those who have never taken a formal class on...

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In Around the World in 80 Trees, Jonathan Drori uses plant science to illuminate how trees play a role in every part of human life, from the romantic to the regrettable, to the downright ridiculous. Stops on the trip include the lime trees of Berlin’s Unter den Linden boulevard, which intoxicate amorous Germans and hungry bees alike, the swankiest streets in nineteenth-century London, which were paved with Australian jarrah wood, and the Japanese Lacquer tree, whose sap has been used not only for some of the world’s most beautiful man-made objects but also by a...

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Multiple Sessions: March 24 10:30-12:00pm [HB], April 20, 10:30-12:00pm [WH], April 27, 10:30-12:00pm [HB], May 5, 10:30-12:00pm [HB]

Location:  March 24, April 27, May 5 Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall; April 20, Weld Hill Lecture Hall

With nearly 4,000 different kinds of plants represented in the Arboretum's living collections, every day presents rich...

Read more about Tree Spotters Citizen Science Program: Basic Training (Multiple Sessions)

Have you ever wanted to be able to separate medicinal plant facts from fiction? This introductory survey course, taught by two experts in the field of ethnobotany, will reveal essential connections between both the anthropological foundations and scientific principles underlying plant-derived drugs around the world. Knowledge will be built for the non-expert, atop four essential pillars of anthropology, botany, chemistry, and pharmacology. The class will be structured to include interactive classroom exercises, the making of simple herbal remedies, and lectures. Our learning experience will... Read more about An Introduction to Medicinal Plants

Take a guided tour of the state-of-the-art Weld Hill Research and Administration Building. Learn about some of the cutting edge plant research taking place there, and explore the “green” building design.

This tour is part of the Cambridge Science Festival.

Free, registration is limited, requested, and opens on March 18 at my.arboretum.harvard.edu

Visit the Arnold Arboretum and venture through the North Woods. Be on the lookout for the wild inhabitants. Use your explorer senses to spot things that normally go unseen. Develop your observation skills and be prepared to make discoveries that might be surprising.

One adult may bring a maximum of three children; suitable for children ages five and up. This is a drop in activity. Follow signs from the Hunnewell building to the start of Linden Path. 

In case of inclement weather, contact 617.384.5209.

Students in the 4th, 5th and 6th Grades will spend time outdoors searching for signs of wild life in different ecosystems and learning to record their discoveries in field journals. Some indoor time will allow students to use of different magnification devices and create take-home projects.

Register below and attend all three sessions, April 16 through 18, for a discounted price of $50, or register for April 16th to the right.

Tuesday, April 16: Enter the North Woods

Explore rotting logs and leaf litter,...

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There are challenges to being a tree in a temperate climate, mainly the changing of seasons. But trees are equipped to shift with these environmental changes. Kristel Schoonderwoerd will explain how trees slow down for winter and subsequently reverse “gears” for springtime and the onset of the growing season.

Fee Free, but registration requested

This event is part of the Cambridge Science Festival, April 12-21, 2019. 

Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

Families need nature all year! Celebrate the return of migratory redwing blackbirds to the meadow of the Arnold Arboretum. Search for birds with binoculars, go on a StoryWalk® about wild birds, identify bird calls, dress up as a redwing blackbird, and get a redwing blackbird tattoo! 

Free
 

Join the Arnold Arboretum's Brendan Keegan for an easy walk looking for early spring birds. This April walk will focus on breeding behavior, the competitive reality of bird song, and a check on chickadee nesting tubes for signs of activity.

All skill levels, especially beginners, are encouraged to join. Bring binoculars, and a few binoculars will be available to share.

This tour is part of the Cambridge Science Festival

See our website for ...

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Have you ever dissected a flower? Do you know what a corona and a corolla are? Join botanical artists, Angell and Duncan as they lead you in creating pencil sketches of several varieties of daffodils. You will slice the flowers open to examine and draw their reproductive anatomy. The instructors will explain distinguishing features of the beautiful spring flowers and teach basic terminology to add to your understanding of the diverse botanical world. 

Some pencils will be available, but bring your own if you have them. We will provide everything else, including...

Read more about Drawing Daffodils Workshop: Exploring the Botany Behind the Art Bobbi Angell and Beverly Duncan, Botanical Artists

Artist's Walk, Saturday, April 13, 10:00am-11:30am

Location: Hunnewell Building

Join The Arboretum's current exhibiting photographer, Chris Morgan, for a walk in the Arnold Arboretum. He will discuss the best techniques for landscape photography. Bring your camera or phone.

Chris Morgan's goal as a photographer is to evoke the emotions he feels when he views patterns and textures in nature, in the shapes of trees, and in the movements of birds. He...

Read more about Artist's Photography Walk-Transitions: Winter Into Spring

Evergreens can be conifers or broad-leafed deciduous plants…they aren’t all pine trees. Starting in the classroom, Laura Mele will introduce basic identifying characteristics of common evergreens and the lead a tour through the Arboretum’s Conifer Collection and Rhododendron Dell for viewing bark, leaves, buds, and cones. Dress for indoor and outdoor learning and bring a hand lens if you have one.
Fee $20 member and $30 nonmember 

Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.

Forest Bathing is inspired by Shinrin-yoku, a prominent feature of preventative medicine and healing in Japan.  From increased cerebral blood flow to stronger immune defenses, there has been extensive research demonstrating what can happen when we relax, unplug and open our senses to the natural world in community.  

This slow-paced guided therapeutic experience promotes wellness through a series of gentle sensory-opening invitations that welcome us to notice more of our natural surroundings.  By deepening our connection with the natural world and each other,...

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