Ithaca Children's Garden

Programs & Events

It's going the be a great summer. Turtle Time, Summer Sprouts, and Kids Gardening Club are back! The brand new Garden Discoveries meets every Thursday morning starting July 10 and there are brand new Family Fun Workshops on Saturdays.
Looking back, 2007 was an exciting year for Ithaca Children's Garden education programs. With the introduction of new summer programs like Summer Sprouts, Turtle Time, and Family Fun Workshops we saw a 66% jump in participation! As we gear up for another great season of programming in 2008, check out all the all the fun and learning that took place in 2007: Ithaca Children's Garden Education Program 2007

Summer Programs and Events

Events

Happy Hatchday Party * Saturday August 2nd, 1-4pm
Gaia the Turtle is turning 3 and we're having a party to celebrate. An afternoon of fun including hands-on activities, face painting, wetlands explorations, live reptiles and amphibians with the Cornell Herp Club, cake and ice cream, and a performance by storyteller Perry Ground.

Basil Festival * Sunday August 24th, 1-3pm
It smells wonderful, tastes delicious, and looks beautiful! Celebrate this amazing herb with a festival of basil fun from cooking, to stories, art, and activities.

Weekly Programs

Turtle Time * Tuesdays, 6-7pm
July 1st - September 16th
This family program interprets Gaia the Turtle and her wetlands habitat with family fun that encourage learning about the natural environment through hands-on activities. Tuesday evenings all ages are invited hang out with Gaia the Turtle for Turtle Time. With a new theme each time you can explore Gaia's wetland, hear stories about turtles from around the world, and learn about telling time in the garden and on turtle shells. Free and appropriate for all ages.

July 1: Wetlands Explorers

August 19: The Art of Gaia

July 8: The Amazing Cattail

August 26: All About Turtles

July 15: Special Guest Surprise!

September 2: Make and Take Terrariums

July 22: Water Fun

September 9: Special Guest Surprise

July 29: Special Guest Surprise!

September 16: To the Moon:

August 5: Wetland Explorers

Lunar Calendars on Turtle's Back

Summer Sprouts * Wednesdays, 10-11am
June 18th - September 17th
Experience the wonders of gardening through stories and hands-on gardening projects. For preschoolers ages 2 to 5 and their caregivers. Meet at the Ithaca Children's Garden for stories about gardens and the creatures that live there. Help grow vegetables and flowers: plant seeds, pull weeds, dig in the soil, water, smell flowers, taste veggies, and more! This free, drop-in program meets in the Growing Gardens near the colorful shed.
June 18: The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
June 25: How Groundhog's Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry
July 2: Sunflower Houses by Eve Bunting
July 9: One Bean by Ann Rockwell
July 16: Allison's Zinnia by Anita Lobel
July 23: Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert
July 30: Two Old Potatoes and Me by John Coy
August 2: Little Cloud by Eric Carle
August 13: Peek at a Pond by Neecy Twinem
August 20: A Tree is Nice by Janice Urdy
August 27: Jabuti the Tortoise by Gerald McDermott
September 3: I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child
September 10: Muncha, Muncha, Muncha by Candance Fleming
September 17: Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert

Garden Discoveries * Thursdays, 10-11am
July 10th - August 28th; no program July 31
There are TONS of discoveries to be made at the Garden. Drop by every Thursday morning to explore the Garden through science experiments, art projects, scavenger hunts, and garden activities.
July 10: Amazing Seed Experiments
July 17: Tree-mendous Trees
July 24: Soil Safari
July 31: no program
August 7: Wacky Weather
August 14: Paper Making
August 21: A Buzz About Bugs

Kid's Gardening Club * Saturdays, 10-11am
June 28th - August 30th; no program July 5, August 2, and August 9
Young gardeners welcome! Drop by and dig in. We'll learn all about gardening by getting dirty in the Growing Gardens where we'll be growing veggies, flowers, and herbs! Learn basic gardening skills Adopt a plot and choose what to grow. Kid's Gardening Club even offers projects and plants to take home to your own garden.
June 26: Planting the Garden
July 5: no program
July 12: Planting the Garden
July 19: Soil Safari
July 26: Water Wonder
August 2: no program
August 9: no program
August 16: What Weed Where
August 23: Wacky Weather
August 30: Harvest and Salsa Making

Family Fun Workshops

Sign-up and bring your favorite grown-up to the Children's Garden for fun and educational workshops. Learn and do together with a broad range of topics to meet any interest. Workshops are $6 per child/adult pair or $12 per family. Registration is suggested because space is limited. To register, contact Leigh MacDonald-Rizzo at 272-2292 ext. 186 or lam26@cornell.edu. You can also download the registration form to mail in or drop off. Take a look at the 2007 Family Fun Workshops.

Wacky Container Gardens * Saturday June 28, 1-2pm
No container is too wacky -- a shoe, a bike helmet, a basketball. If you can fill it with soil, we'll help you turn it into a colorfully crazy container garden. For ages 5 and up.

Herb Garden Natural Dyes * Saturday July 19, 1-2:30pm
Create with colors from nature. Use herbs and plants growing at the Children's Garden to create natural dyes. Transform t-shirts, socks, scarves, and other clothing using these age old techniques. For ages 7 and up.

Bug Hunt with Entomologist Carloyn Klass * Saturday July 26, 1-2:30pm
Explore the world of insects and the Children's Garden. A unique opportunity to catch, observe, and release a diversity of inscets alongside an entomologist. Learn different types of insects, where to find them, and why they are important to the Garden. For ages 4 and up.

Midsummer Fairy Gardens * Saturday August 16, 1-2:30pm
Summer is a magical time when fairies often visit the human world. Learn how to invite fairies into your garden. Build fairy houses, mix-up fairy dust, weave a wand, and experience fairy magic in the garden. For all ages.

Recycle the Harvest * Saturday August 30, 1-2:30pm
Reuse and transform "trash: into gardening essentials. Create a harvest tote bag, a watering can and your own pots. Help with the harvest and sowing a fall crop. For ages 5 and up.

Growing Gardens Programs

The Growing Gardens Program involves youth in every aspect of gardening from planning to harvest. Youth participants learn basic horticultural skills and develop an understanding of garden ecology by examining the relationships between soil, plants, insects, animals, weather and humans. The goal of the Growing Gardens Program is to get children intimately involved with gardens of their own and to instill hands-on experiential knowledge of where their food comes from. The Growing Gardens Program provides children with an opportunity to dig, plant and discover the mysteries of the art and science of horticulture by taking responsibility for a garden plot. It is also an opportunity for children to engage all their senses, actively outdoors and simply get dirty!

Salad Farmers
A great intro for first time gardeners and lots of fun for youth with gardening experience. Use the different colors, textures, and sizes of lettuce, greens, and other salad veggies to design salad gardens as beautiful as they are tasty. Lots of hands-on gardening, garden ecology, games, taste-tests, and activities...plus a Salad Party! In 2007, we broadened and adapted our salad gardening program to a semester-long school-based program called Seed to Salad. Trainings for educators wishing to incorporate the program into their schools or youth groups were offered in February 2008. Additional trainings will be held fall 2008. If you are a teacher interested in learning more about the program or receiving a copy of the curriculum please send email to seedtosalad@yahoo.com or call the Ithaca Children's Garden at 272-2292 ext. 122.

Veggies Around the World
ICG's Veggies Around the World connects culture, gardening, and cooking in season long programs enjoyed two fabulous years of Ugly Vegetables, an Asian vegetable garden based on the Grace Lin's book. In 2007, Veggies Around the World featured Old World New World Pizza Gardens highlighting how plants have traveled the globe. Look for an all new Veggies Around the World program in 2008!

Afterschool Enrichment and Classroom Programs

Plant Science After School Enrichment is offered each spring between the mid-winter and spring break at elementary schools throughout Tompkins County. We are currently booked for 2008 but if you're interested in more information or scheduling a program in 2009 please contact the Ithaca Children's Garden at 272-2292 ext. 122 or ithacachildrensgarden@cornell.edu. View the program brochure.

Preschool and Kindergarten Classroom Programs are offered year round. We are currently booked for spring 2008 but are scheduling programs for Fall and Winter 2008 as well as Spring 2009. Iif you're interested in more information or scheduling a program please contact the Ithaca Children's Garden at 272-2292 ext. 122 or ithacachildrensgarden@cornell.edu. View the program brochure.

Detective Series

More info coming soon....

Youth Horticulture Apprentice Program

Work hard, learn a lot, have fun! is the motto of this horticulture apprentice program for teens. ICG's longest running program employees youth each summer to care for the Garden, develop horticultural skills, and explore career opportunities in the green industry. Learn more....

Community Events

ICG community events celebrate Gaia the Turtle's hatchday, the art of pumpkins, and scarecrows & everything autumn. Learn more about the Turtle Hatchday Celebration, the Pumpkin Jam, and the Scarecrow Jubilee!

Past Programs and Events

More info coming soon...