Children's Program
The JC Raulston Arboretum is one of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in the Triangle area. Have you discovered it? If not, we invite you to come and bring the kids and grandkids!
Our goal is to offer creative, fun, science-based programs for families. Current programs are designed for kids ages five and up.
The Arboretum serves as a living laboratory, designed and maintained to teach the public how to manage cultivated landscapes. Cultivated landscapes are our own backyards, schoolyards, and neighborhoods. Cultivated landscapes are not naturally occurring; they are expressly shaped by people. The interaction between people, plants, soil, water, air, and pollinators affects the health and wellbeing of all living things in the community.
Through its new Children's Program, the JCRA welcomes families into this living laboratory and provides learning opportunities during which connections between human actions and plant reactions will be explored. This important mission is a natural extension of the JCRA's role as a place from which new information about plants and their adaptations to our climate is disseminated. These programs provide hands-on, science education for youth.
Program Offerings
Family Programs: Once a month on weekends.
Homeschooler Programs: Weekday mornings, one or more sessions; scheduled on a case by case basis.
School's Out Programs: On Wake County Public School System traditional calendar teacher workdays and school breaks.
Schools Come to Us: By request only; and only as time permits; must be suitable for existing program content.
Our children's programs are brand new! Sorry, but we do not yet offer general school field trips, general children's tours, or programs that go into the schools.
If your class or group is studying plant science and would like to come to the JCRA for a customized program (fees apply), please contact Elizabeth Overcash, Children's Program coordinator at (919) 513-7007 or elizabeth_overcash@ncsu.edu.
Registration Information
Preregistration is required for all our programs; space is limited and registrations are taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is considered complete when payment is received. When a program is full, we will post it on our Web site in the Calendar of Events section.
For Family Programs, parent/caregivers must stay with their children. No drop offs, please.
We know last minute things come up when dealing with children! We try to be accommodating to parents, but also have to adequately plan for staff/volunteer time and program supplies. Therefore, you may withdraw from a program with no penalty up to one week prior to program start date. After that, there will be no refunds available. If for some reason, a program is cancelled by JCRA, we will refund the full program fee. All programs are rain or shine.
JCRA members receive advance notice of programs and even a discount on many children's programs, so join today! It's fast, easy, and secure.
Topic Areas and Activities
Plants: Learn about plant structures; be a plant detective using tools such as microscopes; create clay models of plant structures; make a work of art using natural materials.
Soil: Explore soil components, particle sizes, and how water and nutrients move through soil. Discover the role of roots and the amazing world down under. Learn the principles of composting.
Water: Hypothesize, test, observe, and record how water flows in different parts of the garden; Observe and discuss how water interacts with plants, soil, and other objects. Learn to identify permeable and impermeable surfaces, visit the A. E. Finley Rooftop Terrace; discuss conservation principles.
Air: Learn how plants and people share the air; explore the process of photosynthesis; and discuss plant sensitivities to pollutants.
Pollinators: Identify host plants, investigate pollinator/plant interdependencies, and life cycles. Learn how to choose plants and protect the health of pollinators and other beneficial insects.
Love Working with Plants and Children?
Join us as a Children's Program volunteer.
Volunteers are needed on weekday mornings and on weekends year-round.
Contact Elizabeth Overcash, Children's Program coordinator at (919) 513-7007 or elizabeth_overcash@ncsu.edu.
For information about the JC Raulston Arboretum's Volunteer Program, please contact Barbara Kennedy, volunteer coordinator, at (919) 513-7004 or barbara_kennedy@ncsu.edu.