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Youth & Family Programs

Serving 26,000 Youth Annually

Programs for Every Age

Youth Education at The North Carolina Arboretum delivers educational experiences that create a purposeful, engaging, and experiential approach to science and outdoor education. It is the mission of Youth Education to provide every student with adventure, exploration, and environmental awareness that will foster their interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) careers and fields. The Arboretum utilizes this approach to cultivate students who value natural resources, learn how to recognize their impact on the world around them, and are equipped with the skill and knowledge of sustainability, conservation, and environmental sciences in the 21st century.

Values of Youth Education

  • Children benefit from time spent outdoors.
  • Outdoor education is essential to STEM education.
  • Outdoor play fosters environmental values.
  • Every child has a right to safe, quality, and enriching outdoor experiences.

Youth Educators

The Arboretum’s team of professional environmental
educators relishes in the opportunity to share the wonders of plants and animals, and our connections to them.
Meet Our Educators

Youth & Family Programs

Want to get involved in the Arboretum’s expansive youth and family educational programs? Click on one of the links below to learn how you can get your child outdoors and appreciating nature!

School Programs

The Arboretum provides students and teachers with engaging, hands-on experiences to discover the wonders of the natural world in a safe learning environment. The Arboretum offers on- and off-site programs for schools, including:

North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation grants $1 million to
expand The North Carolina Arboretum’s youth education
programs statewide

Thanks to a generous grant from the North Carolina
GlaxoSmithKline Foundation, The North Carolina Arboretum will expand its three K–12 project-based outdoor education programs, ECOExplore, Project EXPLORE, and Project OWL to all 100 North Carolina counties over the next five years.

Learn More ( PDF )
Students on a field trip
Youth Education Programs are supported in part by Dogwood Health Trust; Wells Fargo; Pisgah Investments Foundation; Duke Energy; Walnut Cove Members Association;The Ecology Wildlife Foundation; Southeastern Container Inc.; AvL Technologies; and B.B. Barns Garden Center and Landscape Company.

 

Questions? We're Here to Help.

Our education team is ready to help you plan the perfect program for your students.

Contact Education Team