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Digital Field Trips

Dig deeper in the classroom with our virtual field trips and online teacher resources.

Dig Deeper

Dig deeper in the classroom with our virtual field trips and online teacher resources. 

Bring the Gardens into your classroom through these digital resources designed to complement our Discovery Field Trip series. Developed by the Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ Education team and led by volunteers from the Junior League of Birmingham, all field trips extend life science concepts and correlate with the Alabama State Course of Study, Alabama College and Career Ready Standards, and National Science Education Standards. 


Discovery Field Trip + Companion Storytime:
George Washington Carver Garden

Join Junior League of Birmingham Volunteer CeCe Todd as she explores Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ George Washington Carver Garden. Examine Dr. Carver’s life and his unique contributions to science, see how CeCe harvest peanuts and sweet potatoes, and identify other edible plants.


Then listen as Junior League of Birmingham volunteer Margaret Virden reads aloud from Susan Grigsby’s In the Garden with Dr. Carver. This story follows Sally, a young Alabama girl whose day is changed when Dr. George Washington Carver shows up to help Sally and classmates with their school garden.

Discovery Field Trip + Companion Storytime:
Exploring Barber Alabama Woodlands

Come along with Junior League of Birmingham volunteer Sonya Holcomb to explore the Barber Alabama Woodlands at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. In this journey through the woodlands, you will learn how animals rely on plants and how woodland plants depend on animals—a great example of interdependence!


Then listen to Junior League of Birmingham volunteer Sarah Petrusnek read aloud from Laura Knowles’ It Starts with a Seed. Follow the journey of a seed as it transforms into a sapling and into a young tree, growing through the seasons.

Discovery Field Trip + Companion Storytime:
The Secret Life of Trees

Take a walk on the arboreal side of Birmingham Botanical Gardens with Junior League of Birmingham volunteer Maggie O’Connor as your guide. You will become a tree detective by observing, comparing, and contrasting five unique trees found throughout the Gardens.


Then listen as Junior League of Birmingham volunteer Megan Wise reads aloud from Anthony D. Fredericks’ Tall Tall Tree. Explore the habitat found within redwood tree forests, and discover the creatures that live there―from chattering chipmunks to sliding slugs!

Discovery Field Trip + Companion Storytime:
Native American Plant Practices

Join Junior League of Birmingham volunteer Quiwintre Frye as she leads you through the Native American Area at Birmingham Botanical Gardens. You will journey back in time to discover how the native people of Alabama lived with plants at the center of their lives, using them for food, tools, shelter, and more!


Then listen to Junior League of Birmingham volunteer Sonya Holcomb read aloud “Moon of Falling Leaves,” a lyrical poem from Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back by Joseph Bruchac and Jonathan London.

Discovery Field Trip + Companion Storytime:
Pollination Observation

Join Ellen Hardy, Education Program Coordinator with the Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, to explore one of nature’s greatest friendships: plants and pollinators. You will discover what pollination is, how pollinators benefit us, and the many ways we can benefit the pollinators.


Then listen as Dawn Coleman Lee reads aloud from Ruth Heller’s The Reason for a Flower. This playful and poetic story helps young people dig deeper into the pollination process. 

ALSO AVAILABLE IN SPANISH Our sincere thanks to our friends at The Literacy Council of Central Alabama for partnering with us to translate this virtual field trip and companion storytime for Spanish-speaking visitors in our region and around the world.

Discovery Field Trip + Companion Storytime:
Tropical Rain Forest

Chocolate or vanilla? We have both! Join Junior League of Birmingham volunteers Mary Thompson and Pammy Angert and discover how plants adapt to create the amazing ecosystem that is the rain forest.
Discover the cacao tree, whose beans are used to make everyone’s favorite treat, chocolate, as well as the vanilla orchid, which produces vanilla beans. Both can be found in the beautiful setting of our Conservatory.


Then listen along as Junior League of Birmingham volunteer Anne Stubbs shares Madeleine Dunphy’s Here is the Tropical Rain Forest from the lush surroundings of our Tropical House in the Gardens’ Conservatory. From swinging monkeys and upside-down-hanging sloths to graceful caimans and stalking jaguars, this story illustrates how plants and animals of the rain forest are linked in the chain of life.

Discovery Field Trip + Companion Storytime:
Plants Inside Out

Did you know leaves make food for plants? And that they have “mouths”? Join Junior League of Birmingham volunteer Cristin Dedmon as she gives young people a closer look at how plants produce their own food while also cleaning the air we breathe through the process of photosynthesis.


Experience the wonders of nature by joining Junior League of Birmingham volunteer Sarah Petrusnek as she reads Laura Knowles’ It Starts With a Seed. The book follows the journey of a tiny seed as it transforms into a sapling and then into a young tree, growing through the seasons.

Discovery Field Trip + Companion Storytime:
Beyond the Garden Gates

Explore beautiful blooms at the Gardens with Junior League of Birmingham volunteers Avani Patel and Cortnie Draper and discover three ways that plants and flowers grow: from seeds, cuttings, and divisions.


Listen along as Junior League of Birmingham volunteer B Oliver reads A Butterfly Is Patient, written by Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long, from the Ireland Old-Fashioned Rose Garden.