IN- PERSON EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Old Westbury Gardens offers a wide variety of guided programs designed for K-12 students and educators to explore the Gardens in a safe and engaging way.
One hour guided tours are designed in conjunction with NYS Curriculum Standards and allow the property to act as an extension of a teacher's classroom to create concrete counterparts to traditional school lessons in Natural Science, Art, Social Science, English and History.
Trips must be booked in advance and are available Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with 10:00 am and Noon start times.
Double program days can also be accommodated.
Current in-person education group tour maximum is 25 students per educator plus teachers and chaperones. Face masks are not required, but are encouraged for program participants.
Please review our Wellness page here prior to inquiry to ensure this season’s education programs will be a perfect fit for your class.
C O S T:
$10.00 per student; Teachers and aides are admitted free of charge
$10.00 per chaperone (Additional parents and caregivers)
$100.00 program minimum required to book a date.
Email education@oldwestburygardens.org for more information or to arrange a visit.
SCHOOL GROUP
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
EARLY LEARNER-PRE-K-GRADE 1
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Follow Your Nose... And Eyes And Ears
Discover the many ways to explore your five senses through nature. Students build observation and identification skills through a hands-on Gardens tour. Textured and scented plants are highlighted in a mystery activity connecting recognition skills with sense of touch. Students plant an edible flower to bring the lesson home. Next Generation Learning Standard: LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics
Flew the Coop
Old Westbury Gardens is home to over one hundred species of birds. Observe and discover why they choose to make their homes amongst our acres. Learn how scientists use their senses to identify different species and how our feathered friends benefit the environment around them. Students create a take home Sunflower Seed Mosaic craft. Next Generation Learning Standard: LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics
Plants are like People?
Did you know- plants are just like us? Discover a plant’s basic needs, parts and life cycle stages through Gardens games and hands-on activities. Learn how the environment thrives with their help. Students will meet and plant a “Plant Pal” to take home. Next Generation Learning Standard: LS1: From molecules to organisms: Structures and processes
Seeds for Thought
Whether the start of new plant life or a local food source, seed benefits are endless. Join us for a Gardens hike to investigate the many ways seeds aid the lives of people. Find out how wildlife depend on seeds with the changing seasons and celebrate seeds with a Sunflower Seed Mosaic craft to take home. Next Generation Learning Standard: LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics
Wonders in the Woods
How many stories can be found in the forest? Hear how trees work on a lake trail walk studying leaves, bark, other parts and functions. Stop, look and listen to a stump’s unique rings and learn the tale it tells from the inside out. Students craft a paper “tree cookie” to represent the importance of their own life stories. Next Generation Learning Standard: LS1: From molecules to organisms: Structures and processes
ELEMENTARY - GRADES 2-4
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It's Not Easy Being Green
Using qualities of fragrance, texture and taste, plants directly affect their surroundings. Students follow their noses to investigate the symbiotic relationship of plants and the world around them discovering how, with key adaptations, plants are able to thrive in all types of habitats. Students plant a companion plant to bring the lesson home. Next Generation Learning Standard: LS1: From molecules to organisms: Structures and processes
Welcome to the PollenNation
The Gardens are abuzz with excitement in the growing season! Study the science of attraction as it relates to physical adaptations of flora and fauna. Students spy pollinators like birds, bees, and butterflies in action and take flight in a Gardens Pollination race. A bee buzzer craft completes the lesson. Next Generation Learning Standard: LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics. LS3: Heredity: Inheritance and variation of traits
Fine Feathered Friends
Trek through Old Westbury Gardens like a true bird-watcher and discover various species that make their home on site. Observe and decide why some birds choose to migrate and how resident birds survive the cold winter. Students will finish the program with a take home activity celebrating birds. Next Generation Learning Standard: LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics
Nature Upcycled
Water, light, soil– all in constant revolution, renewing and regenerating around us. Learn how Earth naturally balances and regulates our interdependent outdoor environment. Students debate humanity’s role in sustainability and craft an upcycled art piece to take home. Next Generation Learning Standard: LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics
INTERMEDIATE-GRADES 5-8
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A Bird’s Eye View
Unleash your inner ornithologist as you test your bird identification skills in the Gardens. Learn how birds play a vital role in our environment through pest control and seed scattering. Discuss the differences between native and non-native species and how they interact in the habitat. Conclude the program with a hands-on craft celebrating birds. Next Generation Learning Standard: LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics
Cycles in Nature
Nothing goes to waste in nature. Explore the different types of energy cycles that are in constant motion and how people’s role in environmental sustainability affects these cycles. “Upcycled” materials will help create unique student projects that reflect the wonder of nature’s recycling capabilities. Next Generation Learning Standard: LS1: From molecules to organisms: Structures and processes; LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics
Citizen Science- Entomology
Citizen scientists unite to study backyard bugs at the Gardens. Learn the basics of insect identification, life cycles and behavioral effects of beneficial and invasive species. Take part in an on-site count, collecting, comparing and analyzing seasonal data. A bee buzzer craft completes the lesson. Next Generation Learning Standard: LS2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics
SECONDARY-GRADES 9-12
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Gold Coast Gardens Tour
Bring The Great Gatsby to life with an Old Westbury Gardens tour of Carnegie steel heir J.S. Phipps’ former estate. Guided local history tours are presented by seasoned educators and focus on literary comparisons between the reality of Gold Coast life and the classic work of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Students explore 200 preserved acres including beautiful formal gardens in bloom, Peggie Phipps' childhood playhouse cottage and sprawling open space landscapes. This is an all outdoor tour. Westbury House is not accessible to group tours at this time.
NEW Beautiful Botany Tour
In this Living Environment and Science centered tour students will explore the formal gardens. learning how plants evolved and became part of a complex ecosystem, as well as how humans have intervened in modifying plants for aesthetic and regional purposes. Students will participate in a planting project to take home with them to study plant growth.
NEW Landscape Design and Architecture Tour
In this Art centered tour students will explore the architecture of Old Westbury House and the formal gardens. Students will learn about architecture history and the architect George Crawley, who designed both the house and landscaping of Old Westbury Gardens. See how craftsmanship, art history, and design can influence your art. This tour is great for High School Photography and Art classes looking for references and inspiration.
NEW Daily Life in a Gold Coast Mansion
This Social Studies centered tour examines how the Industrial Revolution changed economic structures, societal roles, and technology, in this house and service wing tour. Learn how Old Westbury House went from a rural farm to a bustling estate, and how the Phipps family lived day to day. Then take a look behind the scenes and be introduced to the intensive labor required to create the lifestyle experienced by the Phipps and their guests. You’ll tour the many rooms that were only seen by servants to create the formal dining experiences of the social peers of the Phipps’s in the early 20th century.
(This tour is an indoor house and service wing tour and can accommodate two groups of 15 to 20 students at a time.)