Family
Make-&-Take Sessions
May 8-9
Plant Pounding Bookmarks
Learn about green chlorophyll and other plant pigments that give leaves and flowers their beautiful colors. Then, pound these pigments onto a cloth to create a one-of-a-kind bookmark.
May 15-16
Bee-friendly Planting
Plant the seed of a bee’s favorite plant to visit, Bee Balm, and help attract pollinators to you garden. Learn all about bees and why they are important to our daily lives. “One Seed Chicago” is a coalition that gives out free seeds every summer to Chicago residents, this summer’s winner is Bee Balm!
May 22-23
Start a Salsa Garden
Get ready for the planting season by starting seeds for plants that will later spice up your summer! Plant a tomatillo, tomato, cilantro, and hot pepper seed and grow your own salsa ingredients at home.
May 29-30
Garden Veggie Pins and Necklaces
Celebrate the start of the growing season by making vegetable pins and necklaces from recycled seed catalogs. We’ll also be helping mother earth by finding a new use for these past –season catalogs.
June 5-6
Plant a Ladybug Garden
Plant seeds to take home that will be enjoyable for the ladybugs and you! Dill, Fennel, white cosmo flowers, and cilantro plants attract ladybugs. Ladybugs are excellent predators to pests that are harmful to other plants in your yard and are very important pollinators.
June 12-13
Flower Sketch Pads
First dye a cloth using leaves and flowers, then assemble it into a sketchpad. Be sure to try it out and sketch the Conservatory’s plants afterwards.
June 19-20
Grow a Teacup Garden
Plant fragrant herbs and grow your very own herbal tea garden. Chamomile, peppermint, and lemon balm seeds will be used to grow a garden that you can enjoy year-round.
June 26-27
Grow a Pea Pod in a Snap
Keep the growing going and plant a pea seed! Did you know that when you eat peas, you are actually eating seeds? Learn this and more fun facts, including the life cycle of a pea plant. Peas can be planted throughout the summer for a continual crop.
July 3-4
NO PROGRAMS due to holiday weekend
July 10-11
Grow an Asian Vegetable Garden
Use a fun container to grow plants found in popular Asian dishes. Snow peas, Chinese cabbage and other Asian vegetable seeds will be used in this project.
July 17-18
NO PROGRAMS - visit us off-site at Millennium Park’s Family Fun Tent this weekend
July 24
NO MAKE-AND-TAKE PROGRAM due to special event. Join us for ‘Meet the Bees’ in the City Garden, 10am-3pm. Did you know that beekeeping is alive and well in the city? Did you know that the Garfield Park Conservatory maintains live hives and produces its own brand of honey? Come out for a free day of bee fun and learn more about this fascinating topic. July is the harvest time for our summer honey, so join us for our annual celebration. Purchase honey made by Conservatory bees, listen to live music, make special bee goggles, and last but not least-get a good taste of honey!
July 25
‘Be a Bee’ Goggles
Celebrate a garden’s best friend by making a special pair of “bee goggles.” Then, buzz around the conservatory looking for flowers to pollinate.
July 31-Aug 1
Plant Pounding Bookmarks
Learn about green chlorophyll and other plant pigments that give leaves and flowers their beautiful colors. Then, pound these pigments onto a cloth to create a one-of-a-kind bookmark.
August 7-8
Wish Sticks
Discover that a twig can be so much more than just a stick in this fun, imaginative project. Decorate a twig with buttons and sequins then take home a truly unique treasure!
August 14-15
Plant Part Potpourri
During this make-n-take, mix together fragrant roots, stems, seeds, flowers, fruits, and leaves, while learning about the function of each these separate plant parts. Then sprinkle them into a special potpourri pouch to tuck in your sock drawer when you get home.
August 21-22
Clay Bug-a-lows
Use clay and twigs to build a miniature house for a pretend bug. Not a Chicago bungalow, but a bug-a-low!
August 28-29
Grow a Salad
Plant lettuce seeds in a salad bowl then grow your own pint-sized garden to eat later!
September 4-5
Flower Sketch Pads
First dye a cloth using leaves and flowers, then assemble it into a sketchpad. Be sure to try it out and sketch the Conservatory’s plants afterwards.
September 11-12
Garden Flower Presses
Preserve and take home flowers from the Conservatory with your own flower press. This pretty press, made from take-out container lids, can be used as a suncatcher, necklace, coaster and more!
September 18
NO MAKE-AND-TAKE PROGRAM due to special event. Join us for ‘County Fair’ outside, 11am-4pm. Celebrate the harvest and healthy communities at one of the Conservatory’s most popular events. This is a family-oriented day with programs and activities for all ages. Discover agricultural traditions, see the best in urban gardening, and enjoy horticultural exhibits and demonstrations. Children’s activities, petting zoo and garden displays highlight the connections between plants, food and American heritage.
September 19
Corn Husk Dolls
Create your own special corn-husk doll (or action-figure) to take home, while learning about one of our favorite vegetables, corn.
September 25-26
Wish Sticks
Discover that a twig can be so much more than just a stick in this fun, imaginative project. Decorate a twig with buttons and sequins then take home a truly unique treasure!
October 2-3
Grow a Money Tree
Can you find the Guiana Chestnut tree, also called the money tree, growing inside the Conservatory? This fast-growing tree makes a great houseplant and brings wealth and good luck to a home.
October 9-10
Seed Quilts
Contribute to a community quilt made of seeds! Create a cardboard quilt square with a unique design of your own, then add it to the Children’s Garden Seed quilt.
October 16-17
Chicago Bug-a-lows
Use clay and twigs to build a miniature house for a pretend bug. Not a Chicago bungalow, but a bug-a-low!
October 23-24
Herbal Apple Cider
Get into the spirit of fall by making your own apple cider. Create a mulling spice bag from cloves, allspice, and cinnamon to steep in hot apple juice when you get home.
October 30
NO MAKE-AND-TAKE PROGRAM due to special event. Join us for ‘Creatures of the Night’ taking place all over the Conservatory, 12-3pm. This Halloween-themed event is a unique take on the season. Night dwelling animals have special adaptations-or “tricks”-that help them roam the dark. Come see us this day, when live nocturnal animals such as fruit bats, spiders and owls make a rare daytime appearance. Children and families will learn an adaptation trick and get a treat at each critter station. Other fun activities include spider plant planting, nectar cups, wormy apples, and more!
October 31
Spider Plantings
Although this plant looks like tiny spiders as it grows, it won't spin webs! Plant a cutting of a spider plant, then add a toy fly for fun.