Descanso Gardens

School Programs

Innovative School Programs have established Descanso Gardens as an invaluable community resource for teachers and children, attracting more than 20,000 visits annually. Descanso has fine-tuned a method of teaching which highlights hands-on, inquiry-based learning for students of all ages.

School Visits to Descanso Gardens

Descanso Gardens offers a unique setting where children can experience the richness of a natural outdoor laboratory for the study of life science. Here, students can build their skills in observation and inquiry and develop an understanding that plants are alive: they grow, change and interact with the environment and other living things.
An important aspect of our mission at Descanso Gardens is to provide enriching and enjoyable educational opportunities for the school children of Los Angeles County.
School groups experience the rich natural resources of Descanso Gardens in several ways. The Harvest Garden is a unique program designed for students in grades 3-12 with special needs. Docent-guided tours are exciting expeditions through the garden with one of our knowledgeable volunteers. Self-guided tours allow for the classroom teacher to design and lead the educational experience.
Both docent-guided and self-guided walks require advance reservations for school groups.

For more information or to make reservations, please call the Descanso Gardens School Programs Office at (818) 949-0120.

Self-Guided School Tour

School groups may visit Descanso Gardens for a self-guided tour, under the supervision of the classroom teacher, on weekdays during regular operating hours, 9:00-5:00. Schools on self-guided walks must have at least one adult for every eight (8) students. Advance reservations are required, as the number of school groups admitted each day is limited.

Docent-Guided Visits

Docent tours are free to schools, and are offered to classes grades 1 through 8. Experienced and dedicated volunteers lead educational walks for school classes Tuesday through Thursday during the school year. Guided walks begin at 9:30 a.m. and last approximately two hours. The focus of the docent walk changes with the season. Classroom preparation materials can be provided by Descanso Gardens. Classes on docent-guided visits must have at least one adult for every 10 students. Advance reservations are required.

Pre-School Programs

Pre-school children get a Head Start on learning, and an early appreciation for the natural world, by participating in Sycamore Science Adventures. This program developed for the youngest of students, is patterned after Descanso’s model Discovering Trees for elementary students. Program administrators train participating Head Start teachers to use the landscape for inquiry-based, science education of their young charges. When the year’s visits are completed, the children return to guide their own families through the Gardens. This program is part of Descanso’s mission to establish a regional education center, using the landscape to provide instruction and information about horticulture, plant science and nature for people of all ages.

Harvest Garden

Life-skills in an Outdoor Classroom

The Harvest Garden at Descanso Gardens exists to motivate students with special needs to make healthy choices. By using the garden as a metaphor for life, students learn to better care for themselves AND their environment as they see how nurturing or neglect affects living things. Tending vegetables and flowers fosters a sense of accomplishment and independence through activities not available to them in other areas of their lives.