Self-guided Visits

Lead your own self-guided program while visiting the Missouri Botanical Garden grounds using our handy activity Nature Knapsacks. Each knapsack contains shareable materials to accommodate up ten students including a “Seek and Search” board for the current season as well as a Sculpture Seek and Search spotlighting sculptures within the Garden. Up to 10 knapsacks can be requested via our online registration link and will be presented upon your arrival to the Garden. All knapsacks can be conveniently returned to Visitor Services when departing.

Cost: $5 per knapsack (fee is waived for St. Louis City and County schools as part of the Zoo Museum District)

Current offerings:

• In the Garden
  Grades PreK–1; Available year round
  Guide your students through the Garden grounds and discover how shapes and colors are essential to the design of all gardens. Our horticulturists carefully blend colors of plants and use design patterns to make those areas “pop!” The “In the Garden” Knapsack is a way to take your students on a color and shape adventure while exploring our beautifully designed gardens.
• Tree Trek
  Grades 3–5; Available year round
  With the Garden Tree Trek Knapsack, you and your students will have an opportunity to discover the Garden's many interesting trees and learn about how they grow. Designed for students between in grades 3–5, students will learn how scientists look at the different parts of a tree to determine their plant family. They will have the opportunity to make leaf rubbings of ginkgo tree leaves—a living fossil. And they will learn what tree features that arborists look at when determining the health of a tree.

Knapsacks will be available for pickup at the entry gate when you arrive and may be returned there when you leave. Please be aware that supplies are limited, and reservations must be made before your visit.

Register for a Self-guided Visit and reserve Garden Nature Knapsacks

Your students can bring the Garden home (or back to your classroom)! Pot-a-Plant sessions run fifteen minutes and include a short topical discussion of the type of plant and method of propagation, a guided planting session, and instructions for care. Each student's plant will be packaged in a labeled biodegradable bag and loaded into a cardboard tray for easy transport.

Pot-a-Plant sessions make a great addition to programming of your own design. Current options for planting include:

Fees for Pot-a-Plant sessions run $70. Each session can accommodate up to 30 students. Large groups may schedule multiple sessions during the same visit. Sessions are booked on a first-come, first-served basis, so please book early to ensure the PlantLab is available on the day of your visit.

Wondering where to go when you arrive? Consider the following, identified as favorites by many of our visiting teachers and students:

Climatron^®
Enrich your students’ knowledge of tropical ecosystems with a walk through a lush lowland rainforest.

Japanese Garden
This 14-acre garden incorporates a lake, waterfalls,  islands and numerous bridges.

Kemper Center for Home Gardening
Explore 23 display gardens including a native plant meadow and a vegetable garden.

Victorian District
Featuring Tower Grove House, our popular hedge maze and the Piper Observatory.

These are just a few of the many gardens and conservatories available for your class to visit during your field trip. Learn about our other gardens and conservatories.

Tower Grove House, which was once Garden founder Henry Shaw's country home, offers students a glimpse into our past! The house has been restored and staged using many of Henry Shaw's personal effects, and displays throughout provide information about the Missouri Botanical Garden's earliest years.

Teachers should plan to divide their classes into groups of 5 to 10 students chaperoned by at least one adult during their tour.

Tower Grove House is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free and no preregistration is required. Tower Grove House is closed January through March.

Learn more

The Doris I. Schnuck Children's Garden offers a wide array of hands-on exploration and play-centered learning opportunities! Your students can explore a Missouri wetland with Lewis and Clark, explore a cave and pilot a steamboat with Mark Twain, pretend to keep shop in a settlement town with Daniel Boone, or explore the parts of plants and their role in an ecosystem with Henry Shaw!

Learn more about the Children's Garden

Teachers planning to visit the Children's Garden should keep in mind the following guidelines:

• To receive the reduced admission rate of $3, Children's Garden admission fees are due prior your visit. Please note that there are no scholarships available to cover Children's Garden admission fees at this time.


• To ensure the safety of all Children's Garden visitors, students should be under the supervision of adult chaperones at all times. Teachers should assign students to specific adults before entering the play area. 1 adult chaperone per 5 students is required in the Children's Garden.


• The Children's Garden is open daily, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., April through October.


• Children's Garden Pre-Visit Tools:
  These pre-visit tools were created to make your child’s experience in the Children’s Garden a more meaningful and comfortable one. The tools are most helpful for families with children with ASD and other sensory concerns, but can be helpful for all young children. The following pdfs are available for download:
  Parent/Caregiver Narrative
  Children's Pre-Visit Guide
  Visual Schedule
  Children's Garden Map