IN- PERSON EDUCATION PROGRAMS

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

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

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

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

NEW Life Long Ago: Childhood on the Gold Coast

Curious about life as a kid in the 1900s? Discover the rules, toys, and daily routines of children from one of America’s wealthiest families. Play classic games and explore toy history with fun, hands-on activities. This tour highlights local Gold Coast history and how industrialization shaped family life and society.

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

NEW Inventions and Imagination

Discover how the Industrial Revolution transformed America into what it is today! Learn how Old Westbury House changed from a quiet farm into a busy estate, and explore the daily life of the Phipps family. Take a closer look at the amazing new technology from the early 1900s that shaped the world. Play fun history and technology games, compare the lives of working-class people with those of the wealthy, and see how much life has changed—and what’s still similar—between then and now!

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.

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.

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.

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.