Garfield Park Conservatory is a fantastic place to bring family members of all ages. 
Something’s always growing, and there’s always something new to discover! To make your experience here even more enjoyable, we offer a number of educational opportunities FREE for kids and families!
Looking to bring the experience of the Conservatory’s Family Programs home? Check out our online activities. Some can be printed out and brought with you while you visit!
Roving Naturalists
Watch out as you explore the Conservatory – you may run into a Roving Naturalist! On Saturdays from 10am to 2pm, and on Fridays from 11am to 1:30pm, Nature Educators will provide activities for kids of all ages at Roving Naturalist stations. These programs are drop in and no preregistration is required. You can stop by and play with the materials at the station for as long as you want to.
Roving Naturalist stations will be posted in different areas of the Conservatory on different days. Ask where we are at the front desk! The location will be posted in the lobby each day.
These stations are interactive and are all about scientific exploration, to help your family to see plants in new ways. Adults and young ones of all ages can stop by to learn and play!
Wild Wednesdays
Join GPCA’s Nature Educators on Wednesday evenings to explore and discover together! This program runs every week from 4-7pm, and starts on June 21st, 2023. We will get our hands dirty, play, and discover new things about plants, animals and nature. This is an evening of imagination and exploration sure to make Wednesday the best day of the week.
During the summer months, this program will be outside in our Play and Grow Garden, where kids can get a little wild as they climb on our tinker tree, build a fort, dig (or make cupcakes) in our pebble pond and run around. We will learn about plants, make art projects, conduct experiments to better understand nature, and much more!
Planning a visit when we don’t have programming?
No problem! We have a variety of resources to make your self-guided visit just as fun, including scavenger hunts, digital tours, activities and more!
Photography:
All visitors to the Garfield Park Conservatory, and to Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance events and programs, may be photographed and/or filmed by staff or hired photographers. These photographs and videos may be used in Chicago Park District and/or Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance printed materials, on our website, and/or in other Conservatory promotional materials. Your attendance serves as consent to be photographed and/or filmed. If you are interested in a Photography Permit or Media Permit, Click here.