Children's Programs
Summer Camps
Saturday Morning Story Time
Children's Discovery Benches
Children's Garden
Children's Day
Programs for Schools or Youth Groups
"Wings of Fancy" Butterfly Exhibit Tours
NEW! Children's Program Calendar
Birthday Parties
Birthday parties at Brookside Gardens are full of FUN and learning. Your child and their guests will enjoy both indoor and outdoor activities during one of our unique programs listed below. Birthday parties at Brookside Gardens are conducted on the week-ends during 3-hour time slots. Your $225 fee covers a 30 minute set-up time, 1-hour program led by trained staff, 1 hour party time, and 30 minutes for clean-up.
- Garden Fairies
Tour the garden looking for fairy folk plants and clues! Decorate your own fairy/butter-fly wings to take home. Ages 5-8 - Wooden Wonders
Learn the value of wood, forests, and trees! In a guided tour guests use a tree-key to identify 5 – 8 native trees. Construct and paint a wood bird house to take home. Ages 5-12 - Garden Tea
A lesson on the history of tea and practicing tea party manners is provided. Play a few party games and make a “Grow Buddy” to take home. Dress-up is encouraged. Ages 5-12 - Pollinators and Garden Critters
What’s all the buzz about? Go on a pollinator scavenger hunt and take a guided tour of the Brookside Gardens’ “Wings Of Fancy” exhibit. (Available May through mid September only) Ages 5-12
Birthday Party Guidelines
- The maximum number of children is 16 children.
- Payment is due at the time of scheduling. We will refund in full if the facility must cancel. If you must cancel due to an emergency, we will allow the party to be rescheduled (up to 1 year).
- Food must be purchased from a licensed food purveyor, not homemade. There is not access to a refrigerator, freezer or cooking appliances. Client provides all refreshments, tableware and décor Table decorations are allowed; balloons and piñatas are not.
- Garden parties often have an outdoor component, so please dress for the weather.
- Brookside Gardens is an eco-friendly faciliity and we encourage visitors to plan a waste-free event. We are happy to provide guidance in this matter, and can answer any other questions you may have regarding your event.
NOTE: Party space may reserved, without a program, for children younger than 5. Some parties available seasonally, call for fall & winter party theme options. Please call our Event Office at 301-962-1404 more details and to reserve your child’s party.
For additional party options, visit Montgomery Park's nature centers' websites; BrooksideNature.org, LocustGroveNature.org or MeadowsideNature.org
Children's Programs & Workshops
Mother’s Day Butterfly Container
Spend a little parent-child quality time planting a beautiful container garden that attracts butterflies! Mom or Dad will enjoy spending time with you learning about butterflies, butterfly plants and gardening. First, enjoy a private tour of Brookside Gardens “Wings of Fancy” live butterfly exhibit, then plant a 14” container garden to grow at home. One container garden per family.
May 9, 4:00-6:00pm; Ages: 5 & up, Course number 184050
Fee: $32, FOBG: $30; registration required
Brookside Gardens Conservatory
Dig-in, Dig-out! School is Out!
Celebrate pollinators with us this week!!
Did you know every third bite of food we eat is from the help of a pollinator? Stop by one of our “Dig-in, Dig-out” activity tables and learn how you can help protect our pollinators, essential insects for farmers and food production.
June 18-22, 10:00am-3:00pm
Ages: 4 & up
Fee: Free; no registration required
Outside adjacent to the Visitors Center
Will be held indoors in inclement weather
Summer Camps
NEW! Montgomery Parks 2012 Summer Camp Guide Guide now available for viewing on www.MontgomeryParks.org/Guide. Camp registration is now open!
Garden Impressionists Camp I
June 18-22, 2012
Children will delight in exploring Brookside's beautiful landscaped gardens as they learn to train their artist's eye and seek out natural patterns, shapes and color. With the gardens as inspiration, we'll encourage campers to use different artistic techniques and media to create their own works of art depicting nature's beauty. The instructor is artist Ivette Burgess.
9:00am-12:00pm, Ages: 6-8 Course number 178199
1:00-4:00pm, Ages: 9-11 Course number 178200
Fee: $150/week; registration required
Visitors Center Children’s Classroom
In The Garden
with Monet and Mozart
June 25-29, 2012, 9:00am- 3:30pm
In this brand-new camp, your children will get outdoors, get physical and get creative. Heeding the call of First Lady Michelle Obama's and her 'Let's Move! Museums and Gardens' national initiative, we'll use music and art to teach children all about the living things that inhabit Brookside Gardens. We'll encourage campers to move creatively, use their sense of smell, sight and sound in new ways, and learn new art and musical techniques in a natural setting. The children will create works of art, fashion nature-inspired instruments, and learn to hear the music that nature plays every day in the Gardens.
Instructors: Debbie Vanegas & Zachary Tilkens
Ages: 6-8, Course number 178502
Ages: 9-11, Course number 178549
Fee: $275/week; registration required
In The Garden with Monet - Extended Care
June 25-29, 3:30-5:30pm,
Ages: 6-8: Course number 189699,
Ages: 9-11: Course number 189700
Fee: $50/week; registration required
A Garden “Focus!”
July 9-13, 9:00am-12:00pm
Learn the basics of digital nature photography by photographing one of the region’s most beautiful places - Brookside Gardens. Your children will gain inspiration from the trees, flowers, animals and natural beauty of the gardens, while learning about F-stops, shutter speeds, composition and lighting. A digital camera, spare batteries and memory card are necessary for this camp. (Spend the day with us! Register separately for Lunch Break and Green Thumb Garden Club in the afternoon.) Instructor: Francine Bethea
Ages: 9-11, Course number 178649
Fee: $150/week; registration required
Visitors Center Children’s Classroom
A Garden Focus Lunch Break
July 9-13, 12:00-1:00pm, Ages: 9-11, Course number 189701
Fee: $25/week; registration required
Green Thumb Garden Club
The Green Thumb Garden Club will challenge campers to explore and investigate different gardens and habitats throughout Brookside Gardens' beautiful displays and natural areas. Can plants eat insects? Why do some plants have thorns or fuzzy leaves? How can plants survive in the desert with little water or in a swamp with standing water? Our expert instructor will teach your children secrets of the plant kingdom: plant-animal interdependence, plant growth and products, plant habitats and adaptations, and specific animals and insects often found in a garden. Campers will plant and take home vegetable, succulent and butterfly container gardens.
July 9-13, 1:00-4:00pm, Ages 9-11, Course number 178749
July 30-August 3, 1:00pm-4:00pm, Ages: 9-14, Course number 178800
Fee: $150/week; registration required,
Visitors Center Children’s Classroom
Green Thumb Garden Club - Extended Care
July 9-13, 4:00-5:30pm,
Ages: 9-11, Course number 189799
July 30-August 3, 4:00-5:30pm,
Ages: 9-14, Course number 189800
Fee: $50/week; registration required
Growing Green Gardening Camp
Children will have fun bringing science and nature together to explore the fascinating world of plants and gardening. Throughout the week, they’ll enjoy creating fun gardening crafts, planting gardens and appreciating all things “green!” Insructor: Lynn Richard, Brookside Gardens Staff
July 16-20, 9:00am-3:30pm, Ages: 9-11, Course number 178750
July 23-27, 9:00am-3:30pm,
Ages: 6-8, Course number 178751
Fee: $275/week; registration required
Growing Green Gardening Camp - Extended Care
July 16-20, 3:30-5:30pm,
Ages: 9-11, Course number 189849
July 23-27, 3:30-5:30pm,
Ages: 6-8, Course number 189850
Fee: $50/week; registration required
Botanical Art Camp
July 30-August 3, 9:00am-12:00pm
Botanical art is a superb way to teach careful observation and respect for nature’s diversity. Learn about Maryland’s natural history through its trees and wildflowers. Through observation techniques and fieldwork in both garden areas and natural forest, campers will learn how to journal, collect and make pressed plant specimens, sketch, draw and paint what they’ve found. Campers may work in graphite pencil, colored pencil or watercolor (sketchbook and media provided). At the end of the week, each camper will choose a favorite work of art to be matted and framed. Instructor: Rita Pazelli, Botanical Artist (Spend the day with us! Register for Botanical Lunch Break and Green Thumb Garden Club in the afternoon.)
Ages: 9-14, Course Number 178799
Fee: $150/week; registration required
Botanical Art Camp Lunch Break
July 30-August 3, 12:00-1:00pm,
Ages: 9-14, Course Number 189899
Fee: $25/week; registration required
Butterfly Flutterby
Come learn all about butterflies and butterfly gardening! Through garden activities, crafts, games and visits to Brookside Gardens’ “Wings of Fancy” live butterfly exhibit, campers will learn about butterfly gardening and the butterflies they might find in their own backyards. Instructors: Jennifer Mazur or Lynn Richard
August 6-10, 9:00am-3:30pm,
Ages: 9-11, Course number 178849
August 13-17, 9:00am-3:30pm,
Ages: 6-8, Course number 178899
Fee: $275/week; registration required
Butterfly Flutterby Camp - Extended Care
August 6-10, 3:30-5:30pm,
Ages: 9-11, Course number 189949
August 13-17, 3:30-5:30pm,
Ages: 6-8; Course number 189950
Fee: $50/week; registration required
Saturday Morning Story Time
Saturdays, March 3- June 9, 10:00 a.m.
Participate and listen to nature and seasonal stories that will encourage a child’s imagination and creativity. Each week a different story will be read followed by a hands-on craft.
Free; Ages 3- 6; no registration required.
Story time is held in the Visitors Center Children’s Classroom.
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Children's Discovery Benches
Self-guided exploration, hands-on activities, educational games, books, and puzzles are available in the Visitors Center Children's Classroom Tuesday - Friday*.
Hours: September through June- 2:00-5:00p.m.
July and August-9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Appropriate for children ages 2-7
*Children's Discovery Benches are open based on staff availability.
Children's Garden: Nature’s Fun in your Backyard
The Nature’s Fun in Your Backyard theme continues throughout the summer and fall seasons. Don’t forget to look for pollinators visiting many of the colorful annuals and perennials in the garden. Children will be inspired by colorful fun plants, insect and animal activity, plus enjoy exploring simple, natural materials provided in the “Nature’s Art” area. Gain a few ideas for creating fun in your backyard from our tree house made out of reclaimed construction materials. See what’s inside a gnome hut, follow stepping stones to a tea party, build and stack natural wooden blocks, pretend you are a farmer, climb into a tree house, observe life around a water garden. Children’s imaginations will soar and a greater appreciation for nature will be instilled.
Children's Day: “Adventures with Food – Let’s Move and Groove!”
Saturday, September 15, 2012, 11am- 4pm, FREE
Last year our Children’s Day special event was a proud participant in Let’s Move! Museums & Gardens, a national initiative launched by First Lady, Michelle Obama to provide opportunities for museum and garden visitors to learn about healthy food choices and promote physical activity.
Look for more details on Children's Day 2012, available August 1.
Children's Program Calendar
Check the calendar below for detailed program and event information by date. Register for Children's Programs online through ParkPASS or by calling 301-962-1451. If you don't already have a ParkPASS account, visit the sign in page to create one. Registration for Spring & Summer programs opens February 14 for Montgomery and Prince George's County residents and February 15 for all others; registration for Fall & Winter programs opens August 14 for Montgomery and Prince George's County residents and August 15 for all others.
To volunteer with the Children's Program, call the volunteer coordinator, 301-962-1429
Montgomery County Department of Parks