Students explore the collection of tropical plants in the Sun Garden and learn about plant features using their five senses. Tour highlights include the plants that give us Vanilla, Bananas, Coconut and Chocolate. Dried fruits and chocolate are offered to students to sample. Tropical flower fragrances highlighted include Ylang Ylang, Jasmine and Plumeria. Through the sensory tour, students experience the value of plants in our everyday lives.
Students explore soil to begin their lesson in plant anatomy.
For older children, emphasis is also placed on the lifecycle and anatomy of plants. Students transplant a plant to take home with them. Digging in the Dirt Table will help children recognize the texture of soil and how worms help plants grow. After the soil introduction, trained volunteers or staff provide a guided tour of basic earthworm anatomy, a simple food chain, and soil composition. Children will discover the gender of a worm, how it moves, what it eats, the earthworm food chain, and the importance of soil particle size.