Exhibits
Guided Tours
Plan Your Visit
Zoo New England is partnering with the Arboretum to run its annual turtle survey! For the past five summers, ZNE conservation biologists have ventured into the ponds of the Arboretum to survey the turtles, minnows, and other biodiversity present there. Join Zoo New England staff for a Tree Mob to meet and learn about the fascinating species that call the Arboretum ponds home.
Unwind with a nature meditation and sound bath in the Leventritt Shrub and Vine Garden, specially designed for older adults. Facilitator Bob Linscott will guide the group through one hour and a half of mindfulness and meditative soundscapes to help you de-stress and connect with the natural world. This program takes place in the Leventritt Shrub and Vine Garden, but we will gather in front of the Hunnewell Building at 125 Arborway and take a van to the Leventritt.
Unwind with a nature meditation and sound bath in the Leventritt Shrub and Vine Garden, specially designed for older adults. Facilitator Bob Linscott will guide the group through one hour and a half of mindfulness and meditative soundscapes to help you de-stress and connect with the natural world. This program takes place in the Leventritt Shrub and Vine Garden, but we will gather in front of the Hunnewell Building at 125 Arborway and take a van to the Leventritt.
Stop by the Hunnewell Lawn while supplies last to create beautiful nature-based cyanotype prints. Participants will arrange flowers, leaves, and seeds and expose them in sunlight to create a deep blue print with bright, ghost-white silhouettes.
This is a drop-in program so there is no need to register, just stop by and get creative!
Over 90% of the Arboretum’s wild-collected plants came from either eastern Asia or eastern North America. These include several closely related species that grow in entirely different hemispheres, including species of maples, viburnums, hydrangea, and more. Join Keeper of the Living Collections Michael Dosmann to learn about some of these plants’ evolutionary histories, morphological similarities (and differences), horticultural merits, and how they were introduced into cultivation and to the Arboretum specifically.
Hundreds of mushrooms hide beneath the Arboretum’s canopies, silently blossoming into unique forms then withering away again just as quickly. Join local mushroom enthusiast Maria Pinto to search for these fascinating organisms on the Arboretum grounds, both edible and poisonous alike. Along the way you will learn what mushrooms to look for in different habitats and seasons, how they move through ecosystems, and what the Arboretum’s unique collections affect what mushrooms you might find here.
Join us at the Arboretum as we read and discover new things about the natural world. During this one-hour program for our youngest guests and their grownups, we will read a nature inspired story, do a craft, and go for a nature walk to continue exploring the theme.
Cosmologies are ways of understanding the nature of the universe, of experiencing the world in all its variations including the visible and the invisible. Over millennia trees have served as the mythological archetype of the world’s axis (axis mundi), the pole through the earth’s center which connects the worlds above and below. Within a cosmic-magical model of the world (imago mundi), trees also evolved in various cultures to possess innate spiritual powers or as conduits for communication with the holy or sacred.
During this tour we will discuss angiosperms, the largest and most diverse group in the plant kingdom. All flowering trees are angiosperms, but not all angiosperms reproduce in the same way, so you may not see blooms and flowers but plenty of leaves. Docent Katrina Scott will lead this interactive tour with stops for moments to reflect on specific trees and the stories associated with them. Were they revered or feared? A home for deities or tricksters?
Join pollinator expert Nicole Bell for a walk through the Arboretum’s meadows to find bees and other pollinators in their natural habitat. Nicole will use a sweep net to find and catch bees in the landscape so participants can see them up close, while we talk about the most common bees found in Massachusetts, where they live and what they eat, and the importance of places like the Arboretum for pollinator conservation.
Many are aware of Charles Sprague Sargent’s role as first director of the Arnold Arboretum, establishing it as the world-renowned institution it is today. Far fewer are familiar with the deep influence he had over how Americans have come to think about forests, forestry, and wilderness. Docent Paul Eldrenkamp will lead a tour that explores the history of the idea of the forest in America- and how Sargent helped shape that idea.
Unwind with a nature meditation and sound bath under the shade of the oak collection. Facilitator Bob Linscott will guide the group through one hour of mindfulness and meditative soundscapes designed to help you de-stress and connect with the natural world.
Almost all of the plants in the Arboretum begin their lives in the Dana Greenhouses. Join greenhouse staff for a behind-the-scenes look of the greenhouse growing process, from seed to sprout to seedling to tree.
Tai chi is a Chinese martial art known for its slow, intentional movements which act as a form of moving meditation for practitioners. Join International Tai Chi Gold Medalist and referee Hongsheng Jin for this one-hour tai chi class, appropriate for beginners and experienced students alike. The class will begin with breathwork and stretching, continue with a moving meditation and a walk practice, and conclude with a formal tai chi practice.
Join docent Lisa Gaquin for a brisk early morning walk along the inside perimeter of the Arboretum. This walk will be fast-paced, energetic, and will involve walking over hills and rough terrain. Note that this is not a traditional tour: you may hear some information about individual trees and history, but the main goal is to get outside and get some exercise! Bring good walking shoes, water, and walking poles if desired.
Join us at the Arboretum as we read and discover new things about the natural world. During this one-hour program for our youngest guests and their grownups, we will read a nature inspired story, do a craft, and go for a nature walk to continue exploring the theme.
The Leventritt Shrub and Vine Garden contains over a dozen grapevines, many of which have rich histories in plant breeding and winemaking. Join winemaker and author J. Stephen Casscles for a walk through Leventritt and explore these diverse grape species, their long histories in grape breeding, and their contributions to sustainable agriculture. The group will gather in front of the Hunnewell Building and then walk the 10 minutes to the Leventritt Garden.
Embark on a birdwatching tour in the Arboretum’s landscape with docent and birder Donna Sullivan. This two-hour tour is suitable for adult beginners as well as more experienced birders. Bring binoculars if you have them!
Join us at the Arboretum as we read and discover new things about the natural world. During this one-hour program for our youngest guests and their grownups, we will read a nature inspired story, do a craft, and go for a nature walk to continue exploring the theme.
As the sun sets, the bats come out! Join Arboretum Horticulturist Brendan Keegan and Matt Kamm, Associate Director of Field Conservation at Zoo New England, for a Bat Walk in the Conifer Collection, using specialized microphones to listen for and identify bat species in the landscape.