MOBOT and Sachs Butterfly House Has Some Great Children's Programs

By Karen Hagenow

St. Louis, MO - Get to know the Missouri Botanical Garden and its “family tree” of attractions with engaging summer camps and classes. Children of all ages can spend time outdoors, meet new friends and have fun as they explore the natural world. Learn about botany, ecology and conservation at the Garden. Discover the planet’s many animals and insects at the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House. Become a “green” expert at the EarthWays Center, and enjoy nature outings at the Shaw Nature Reserve. Enrollment opens Jan. 15, so get growing by visiting www.mobot.org/education.

Missouri Botanical Garden
The Missouri Botanical Garden in south St. Louis offers a variety of programs designed to enrich your child’s Garden experience. Summer Little Sprouts features hands-on indoor activities, outdoor walks, songs, stories and snacks for two- and three-year-olds with an adult. Explore a new Garden habitat each week to discover the plants and animals that make them so special. The four-week series is offered on Wednesdays or Thursdays from 10 to 11:30 a.m., beginning June 3. Series cost is $72 per child.

Pitzman Nature Study classes give parents or grandparents a way to experience the many areas of the Garden together with their four- to six-year-old. Each class includes time outdoors, classroom discussion, a craft and a snack. Choose from 13 themed programs taught by professional preschool teachers. Topics range from wiggly worms and perfect ponds to roses, bugs, and fountains. Ninety-minute classes are available on Mondays or Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and Saturdays at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Cost per class is $18 per child.

Five new multi-day Camp MBG sessions combine journaling, games, arts and crafts, and more to foster learning about plants and ecosystems. In Gotta Grow, four- and five-year-olds will discover how to make plants grow and investigate what happens when plants don’t get what they need. The camp is Aug. 4 through 6 from 10 a.m. to noon each day. Cost is $54 per child.

Students entering first through third grades can explore Extreme Botany, from the biggest plant at the Garden to meat-eating plants to other unusual species, June 29 through July 2. Uncover the differences between a wetland and a pond or the similarities of a Missouri woodland and a tropical rainforest with Ecology Essentials from July 20 through 23. Both camps are from 9 a.m. to noon and cost $80 per child.
Students entering fourth through sixth grades can enjoy the FUNdamentals of Forests and Prairies from July 6 through 10 by investigating what Missouri looked like decades ago, or get Earth-wise exploring sustainability from the backyard to the rainforest, July 27 through 31. Both camps are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and cost $184 per child.

To register for summer classes at the Missouri Botanical Garden, visit www.mobot.org/education or call (314) 577-9506.

Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House
Visit the Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House in Chesterfield to explore the world’s many animals, insects and plants. Camp Bugaloo: Nature’s Recycled Alphabet fosters math and science learning through engaging, nature-themed preschool programs for children with a parent or guardian. For two- and three-year-olds, choose from 90-minute sessions on Aug. 21 or 23 and 28 or 30. Four- and five-year-olds, choose from June 5 or 7 and 12 or 14. Friday programs begin at 9:30 a.m.; Sunday programs begin at 12:30 p.m. A two-class series is $25; single classes are $15.

Six- to eight-year-olds paired with their parent or guardian can investigate insects that swim, jump, dig, and fly in BUZZ: Lifestyles of the Six-Legged. Classes are June 28, July 5, 12, 19 and 26 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Cost is $83 for the five-class series or $15 for individual classes. Backyard Science summer camp encourages children to explore the littlest contributors to the environment, from butterflies and bees to beetles to roaches. The weekly series will also include a special field trip. Classes are 3 to 5 p.m. on July 8, 15, 22 and 29; cost is $65.

Ages eight and older can learn the skill of mounting butterflies for display and study through Butterfly Pinning on June 10 and 17 from 10 to 11 a.m.; cost is $15 for both classes. Ages nine and older can join the Butterfly House and the Humane Society of Missouri for a crash-course in entomology called Creepy Crawlers. Inspect the wide world of insects, from the harmless and beneficial to the pesky bugs that “bug” our pets. The class is July 16 from 10 a.m. to noon and costs $17 per person.

To register for summer classes at the Butterfly House, call (636) 530-0076, extension 13.

EarthWays Center
Grow “green” with summer camps at the EarthWays Center in mid-town St. Louis. Camp EarthWays: Green Builders offers children entering fifth through eighth grades the opportunity to explore sustainable home design as they create a fantasy green home from the inside out. From July 13 through 17, Young Green Builders will interact with professionals in the green building area and hop aboard public transportation to discover new neighborhoods and urban homes. July 20 through 24, Advanced Green Builders will visit new sites, meet new industry professionals, and put their skills to the test with a hands-on project. Campers will build on their green home design from a past Young Green Builders session, develop new designs, and explore green careers. Both programs are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and cost $184 for the week.

To register for summer camps at the EarthWays Center, call (314) 577-0220.

Shaw Nature Reserve
The 2,400 acre Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit, Mo. is an ideal setting for exploring the outdoors through Pitzman Nature Study classes. Each two-hour class is geared for children ages four to six accompanied by an adult. Seek out animals that use camouflage to blend with their surroundings in Now You See Me, Now You Don’t on June 8. Have a Teddy Bear Picnic while you learn about Missouri’s bears on June 10. Grab your old shoes and find critters living in Brush Creek at a Creek Stomp on June 12. Each class is held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and includes a craft and snack. Cost per class is $18 and includes one child and one adult.

To register, call the Shaw Nature Reserve at (636) 451-3512.

For more information on the entire lineup of summer camps and classes at the Missouri Botanical Garden, Butterfly House, EarthWays Center and Shaw Nature Reserve, visit www.mobot.org/education or call (314) 577-9506. Garden members enjoy early enrollment and a discount on many youth programs.
The Missouri Botanical Garden is the oldest continually operating botanical garden in the nation, celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2009. Missouri Botanical Garden: Green for 150 Years.

The Missouri Botanical Garden’s mission is “to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment, in order to preserve and enrich life.” Today, 150 years after opening, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for science, conservation, education and horticultural display. Missouri Botanical Garden: Green for 150 Years.