Botanical Gardens
Share the natural world with your child at these botanical gardens and arboretums. These are wonderful places to go to go birding, work on your nature journals, or simply spend a lovely afternoon outdoors.
Botanical Gardens & Arboretums in Colorado
Denver Botanic Gardens
With more than 32,000 plants on 23 acres from such far-away places as Australia, Africa and the Himalayas, Denver Botanic Gardens is recognized as one of the top five botanical gardens in the United States. Open year round. They offer special programs for school groups.
Mordecai Children's Garden
The Children’s Garden offers a place for kids and families to play, explore and discover every spring, summer and fall. Because the natural environment constantly changes, no two visits in this magical 3-acre oasis will be alike. This garden is located at the Denver Botanic Gardens on top of the parking structure. Children can learn at the rooftop alpine garden, race pinecones down Springmelt Spring, hunt for bug in the Glorious Grasslands and observe aquatic life at Pipsqueak Pond.
Western Colorado Botanical Gardens
The WCBG is home to an Herb Garden, Cactus Garden, Rose Garden and Orchid Display that are maintained by local gardening organizations. The WCBG maintains several other gardens including the Childrens Secret Garden, Shozan-en, Celebration Plaza, Community Garden and the lovely public gardens that surround our buildings.
Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield
Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield provides a picturesque setting among the grasslands, ponds and cottonwood banks of Deer Creek. Facilities include nature trails, display gardens, educational exhibits, a historical farm and one-room schoolhouse, working beehives and picnic areas. Visit the Earl J. Sinnamon Visitor Center, the historic Hildebrand Ranch, a restored 1918 dairy barn and silo, the 1874 Deer Creek Schoolhouse, 2.5 miles of nature trails, the Deer Creek Discovery children’s play area and numerous wildflower gardens.
Butterfly Pavilion
The Butterfly Pavilion is home to over 5,000 animals, including Rosie the Tarantula, sea creatures, and over 1,600 butterflies. After walking through the tropical rainforest pavilion, explore the gardens and nature trails outside. They offer education programs for groups.
Mount Goliath
Mount Goliath, a mountain peak section of the Mount Evans area, is accessible by the M. Walter Pesman Trail and is located 17 miles from Idaho Springs within the Arapaho National Forest. This trail winds through subalpine and alpine areas where wildflowers and animals live amid grand mountain vistas and the sculptured, grizzled beauty of the bristlecone pines.
Highlights include delicate alpine floral treasures such as alpine forget-me-nots, moss campion, fairy primrose, purple fringe, chiming bells and spring beauty. This is a trail of contrasts--awesome Rocky Mountain vistas of the Divide peaks; delicate floral treasures; wind-sculpted, ancient bristlecone pines; cold summit winds; and gentle summer breezes. The path winds through the exquisite blooms of the alpine tundra, talus slopes and subalpine meadows providing a delightful and educational hike in one of Colorado's most beautiful natural areas. The Denver Botanic Gardens offers guided tours of Mount Goliath on select dates in June through August
Looking for Another State?
Featured Resources
As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. We get commissions for purchases made through links on this site.
For the Good of the Earth and Sun: Teaching Poetry
For the Good of the Earth and Sun is for teachers at all levels, especially for those teachers who feel anxious about introducing poetry to students. Georgia Heard offers a method of teaching poetry that respects the intelligence of students and teachers and that can build upon their basic originality. She explores poetry from the inside as it is: a powerful and necessary way of looking at the world, and one of mankind's most durable inventions. Her book provides detailed, organized information ...
Reading Made Easy
Reading Made Easy is a phonics-based program, featuring 108 easy lessons, designed to be taught in less than 30 minutes per day. It is fully scripted and has original Christian content and stories. Includes hands-on writing and drawing activities. Reading Made Easy can be purchased here.
Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)
In this brilliant, lively, and eye-opening investigation, Tom Vanderbilt examines the perceptual limits and cognitive underpinnings that make us worse drivers than we think we are. He demonstrates why plans to protect pedestrians from cars often lead to more accidents. He uncovers who is more likely to honk at whom, and why. He explains why traffic jams form, outlines the unintended consequences of our quest for safety, and even identifies the most common mistake drivers make in parking lots. Tr...
Great Lodges of the National Parks: The Companion Book to the PBS Television Series
Stand amid soaring Douglas fir in the great hall of Glacier Park Lodge or sit in the setting sun and gaze into the Grand Canyon at El Tovar. This beautiful gift book will transport you to the majestic lodges of our national parks to relive the glory of past vacations or plan adventures anew. This book and the PBS television series of the same title (to air in spring 2002) take armchair travelers into these architectural wonders and explore the surrounding natural beauty of our national parks. Lo...
100 Top Picks For Homeschool Curriculum: Choosing The Right Curriculum And Approach For Your Child's Learning Style
The key to successful home education is determining your educational philosophy and linking it to your child’s learning style. Then you can make an informed decision in choosing the right educational curriculum for the child. Homeschool guru Cathy Duffy can help you accomplish these critical tasks, with her top choices from every subject area, approaching everything through a Christian worldview perspective.