The Arnold Arboretum offers seasonally appropriate guided field trip opportunities for Boston Public School students in Pre-K through sixth grade. Field Study Experiences are filled with hands-on activities, thoughtful conversations, and discovery as students are guided through the Arboretum’s landscape by trained volunteers.
All programs complement classroom learning by aligning with Boston Public School Life Science study and Massachusetts Science, Technology, and Engineering curriculum standards. Pre- and post-visit materials are provided to help teachers plan for an enriching experience for their students.
Not a Boston Public School? Interested in a self-guided visit for your group? View our self-guided field trip opportunities.
When
- Monday – Friday, 10am or 10:30am start time, duration depends on the program.
- Fall programs are offered September through November.
- Spring programs are offered April through June.
Who
- Boston Public Schools
Group Size
Group sizes are dependent on the type of program. Please view each program below for more details.
Due to space limitations of locations in our landscape where our programs are run and to ensure meaningful learning experiences, our group sizes don’t have much wiggle room. If your group is larger than our maximum, reach out about scheduling two dates.
Cost
- Free and includes transportation.
Registration
Registration for Spring 2025 will open in March.
Interested in registering for a Field Study Experience at the Arboretum? Submit your BPS work email to get updates about the upcoming season and to receive the registration link.
Field Study Experience Options for School Year 2024–25
Click program name for details and standards.
Explorations | Pre-K–K
90-minute program, offered in the springMaximum: 50 students | Minimum: 36 students
Explore the Arnold Arboretum on this fun-filled child-centered learning adventure. Using hand lenses, bug boxes, and a collection bag, students will be guided through various parts of the Arboretum to discover and observe the plants and animals that live here.
Standards: PreK-LS1-1(MA), PreK-LS1-3 (MA), PreK-LS2-1, PreK-LS2-2(MA), PreK-LS2-3(MA), PreK-LS3-1(MA), K-LS1-1, K-LS1-2 (MA)
Habitats | Grade 1
Two-hour program, offered in the springMaximum: 50 students | Minimum: 36 students
Investigate two distinct habitats within the Arboretum landscape and discover what organisms live there. Students will discuss and record the living, non-living, and once-living things that they find in the ponds and the woods. They will wrap up their visit by comparing the two habitats explored and discuss how each place meets the basic needs of the plants and animals that inhabit them.
Standards: 1-LS1-1, 1-LS1-2, 1-LS3-1, 2-LS4-1
Plant Parts | Grade 2
Two-hour program, offered in the springMaximum: 50 students | Minimum: 36 students
Dig deep into investigating the parts of trees and plants. Students will be guided through the landscape to search for six plant parts while learning about their unique function in the plant’s growth, survival, and reproduction.
Standards: 1-LS1-1, 2-LS2-3(MA), 3-LS1-1
Flowers Change | Grades 3-5
Two-hour program, offered in the springMaximum: 54 students | Minimum: 36 students
Have fun with flowers as we explore the life cycle of flowering plants. Throughout their visit to the Arboretum, students will encounter and interact with a large variety of flowers, examine parts closely, and identify stages of change. They will observe and dissect flowers, cut open a bud, and collect evidence of these life cycle developments and sequence the stages. Students will even search for and pretend to be pollinators fertilizing a flower.
Standards: 3-LS1-1, 3-LS4-5(MA), 4-LS1-1
Leaf Traits | Grade 3
Two-hour program, offered in the spring and fallMaximum: 35 students, one class
Become a botanist and discover the inherited and acquired traits expressed in leaves. Using a variety of tools, students observe, measure and record observable leaf traits in the field. They then compare sun and shade leaves to determine how leaves respond to environmental cues.
Standards: 3-LS3-1, 3-LS3-2, 3-LS4-2
Native Trees Native Peoples | Grade 3
Two-hour program, offered in the fallMaximum: 54 students | Minimum: 36 students
Travel in time to learn how the Massachusett Tribe used native deciduous and evergreen trees for survival during long brutal winters. The lands that now encompass the Arnold Arboretum were once inhabited by Indigenous Peoples who depended upon trees for food, shelter, medicine, tools, and transportation. Students learn to identify 8 key species and their uses.
Standards: 3.T2, 4-LS1-1
Plants in Autumn: How Seeds Travel | Grade 4
Two-hour program, offered in the fallMaximum: 54 students | Minimum: 36 students
Investigate the natural phenomenon of seed dispersal during the fall season. Students collect, dissect and observe the structures of many seed packages – fruit – and hypothesize about their method of dispersal, often conducting experiments in the field to gather evidence to support their ideas and engage is scientific argumentation.
Standards: 4-LS1-1
Weathering, Erosion, and Deposition | Grade 4
Two-hour program, offered in the fallMaximum: 54 students | Minimum: 36 students
Become a geologist and learn about the forces of nature that shape the Arboretum and the Earth! Students learn geologic definitions and search the landscape for instances where these forces are at play. Along the way they use models, classify statements, and illustrate examples of weathering, erosion, and deposition.
Standards: 4-ESS1-1, 4-ESS2-1
Hemlock Hill: A Forest Ecosystem | Grade 5
Two-hour program, offered in the fallMaximum: 36 students, one class
Enter a forest ecosystem and get lost in the wonder of producers, consumers and decomposers. Students hike through producers, capture organisms for close observation, examine fungi, and engage in science talk to understand how matter cycles through all parts of an ecosystem.
Standards: 5-LS1-1, 5-LS2-1
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Questions?
Please contact Ana Maria Caballero, Outdoor Educator
617.484.9032
acaballeromcguire@fas.harvard.edu
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Essential Support for the Field Study Experience Program
The FSE program is fully reliant on charitable contributions to underwrite its budgetary expenses. In years in which we do not raise enough dedicated funding, the program is supported by unrestricted membership fees. We appreciate your consideration of support. Visit the Arboretum’s giving page and select “Elementary School Programs” from the drop-down menu to direct your donation to this program
Want to share your love of the Arboretum and plants with BPS students out in the landscape? Become a Field Study Guide and volunteer to lead school groups.