School Tours

Kindergartners explore living and non-living objects in the Children's Garden. In this hands-on program, students explore the natural world through their five senses. In the process, they discover more about plant and animal lifecycles. (Year-round).

Explore the diversity of plants in the Children's Garden and surrounding woodland areas. Children learn how to protect the plant's survival. As they hunt for roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds, students discover the dynamic and diverse life cycles of plants in the Garden. (Year-round).

Learn how to grow seedlings and learn about seedlings. We also investigate seeds and other seeds. (Year-round).

Why do you like butterflies? Explore the ways butterflies and bees choose their favorite "partners" in hands-on investigations. Students visit the Children's Garden and surrounding woods to explore many examples of plant-animal interdependence. (March-October).

Have you ever watched a chipmunk scurry to its burrow or a swallow catching insects? Discover the essentials of wildlife habitats in guided tours through the Garden's forests and meadows. Discover the adaptations which enable plants and animals to survive in each environment. (Year-round).

Visit the Hunt Cabin to learn about life in South Carolina from the European settlement to the Civil War. In this program, students will learn about the experiences of Native-Americans, African-Americans and Europeans and how they have been shaped by the land in which they lived. Participants compare and contrast the life of the Hunts, their enslaved workers, and the Cherokee in the upcountry, to the inhabitants of the country, particularly the low country.

Learn about the discovery and settlement for South Carolina from a unique perspective: a walk along the SCBG Natural Heritage Trail. This Trail begins in the Maritime Forest at the coastline of South Carolina and crosses the state through the Longleaf Pine Savannah and Prairie described by South Carolina's first explorers, and then ends in the mountain habitat of the state. Discover how the land shaped South Carolina's history, and how people have changed the land as you walk this fascinating Trail.

This is a more extensive program that takes 2 hours to complete but is an excellent way to explore all facets of South Carolina's history.

Enter the complex world of a forest ecosystem to explore the roles of plants, vertebrates, and invertebrates in molding this unique environment. In this thought-provoking program, students examine ways in which habitats change over time, and the creatures and processes that facilitate those transformations. (Year-round).

Take a look at one of the Garden's terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems: forest, meadow, pond or stream. Explore the food webs that make up that specific environment. Discover the challenges and limits faced by organisms living there. (Year-round).

Flowering, cone-bearing and spore-producing plants are all well-represented in the Garden. Discover the spectacular diversity of plants in our perennial gardens and woodlands, then explore the intricacies of plant and function close-up. (February-October).

Visit the Hunt Cabin to learn about life in South Carolina from the European settlement to the Civil War. In this program, students will learn about the experiences of Native-Americans, African-Americans and Europeans and how they have been shaped by the land in which they lived. Participants compare and contrast the life of the Hunts, their enslaved workers, and the Cherokee in the upcountry, to the inhabitants of the country, particularly the low country.

Natural Heritage Trail Programs

Learn about the discovery and settlement for South Carolina from a unique perspective: a walk along the SCBG Natural Heritage Trail. This Trail begins in the Maritime Forest at the coastline of South Carolina and crosses the state through the Longleaf Pine Savannah and Prairie described by South Carolina's first explorers, and then ends in the mountain habitat of the state. Discover how the land shaped South Carolina's history, and how people have changed the land as you walk this fascinating Trail.

This is a more extensive program that takes 2 hours to complete but is an excellent way to explore all facets of South Carolina's history.