Discovery Programs
The Discovery Garden Is Growing!
More than tripling the size of the existing garden, the expanded Discovery Garden will comfortably accommodate the next generation of naturalists and inspire them with exciting new experiences and activities.
Children and their caregivers learn about the natural world through open-ended exploration and interactive activities in the Discovery Garden. Children are invited to touch and smell incredible plants and experience different habitats: woodland, meadow, farm, wetland, and a nature center where families can dig for worms and investigate natural objects. The Discovery Garden also offers year-round workshops for families, free with garden admission. Workshops are on a drop-in basis and are appropriate for a broad range of ages. Children must be supervised by an adult.
Download the Family Discovery Guide
While the Discovery Garden is growing, explore the rest of BBG as a family and learn about the plant world. Download the Discovery Guide for activities around the Garden and playful challenges for the whole family.
Discovery Workshops for Families
Learn about plants and animals at science activity stations, get hands on with garden plantings and crafts, sit in on story time, and head out to explore the grounds on a Garden hunt! Workshops are located in the Fragrance Garden and free with Garden admission for families with children of all ages! Drop by anytime during workshop hours.
Free Drop-In Workshops
Spring Weekend Discovery Workshops
April 13–June 2, 2013 | Drop in Saturdays, 11 a.m.–1 p.m., Sundays 1–3 p.m.
Drop in for these free family nature workshops and watch the Garden come to life! Children learn about garden plants and animals and explore the springtime world through Discovery stations, scavenger hunts, story time, crafts, and plantings to take home!
Ashley Gamell
Ashley Gamell is the fifth generation of her family to enjoy the urban oasis that is Brooklyn Botanic Garden. She began working at BBG as a college student teaching the Summer Science Program, and has continued on as a BBG plant educator since then, first in the Children’s Garden, and now in the Discovery Garden. Ashley particularly enjoys creating opportunities for children to connect with edible and native plantings in the Discovery Garden. She also cares for BBG’s unique collection of teaching plants in the Education Greenhouses. As a gardener, educator, and poet, Ashley is always looking for the tiny details that make nature so magical, and loves to share that magic with visitors of all ages.
