SCOUT PROGRAMS

New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill offers a wide range of badge workshops for Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts of all levels. From gardens to trails, there is so much to discover in our outdoor classroom. Whether you are a Brownie, Junior, or Webelo, your visit to New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill will be memorable, educational, and fun! All workshops are 90 minutes in length and are designed to meet or support badge requirements.

Commemorate your visit with a New England Botanic Garden leaf patch! Available for purchase online or in person at the Garden Shop.

PRICING
The fee for a guided Girl Scout and Cub Scout program is $200 and includes materials and admission for 15 scouts and 5 adults, unless otherwise noted.  Additional adults must pay general admission at the front desk when they arrive.

Scout visit payment must be made 5 days in advance of the program and will be processed through our online booking software with a credit card. This program fee is non-refundable, all groups must have their attendance numbers finalized at the time of payment.

GIRL SCOUT PROGRAMS

Outdoor Art Maker
Join us as we explore the different ways the natural world inspires us to imagine and create while working on your Outdoor Art Maker badge (not included). Observe colorful flowers in the garden, listen to wildlife at the pond, practice painting a watercolor landscape, and explore the sights and sounds of the great outdoors.

Eco Friend
Learn to become a nature hero while working on your Eco Friend badge (not included). Learn the leave no trace principles and how to protect plants and animals on your next outdoor adventure. Embark on a miniature hike and explore ways to reduce waste to help the plants and animals in our neighborhoods.

Flower Garden Journey
Explore our gardens and grounds and learn about the world of gardening while working towards your Flower Garden Journey badge (not included). Visit different garden spaces, learn about insects that help plants grow, and pot up your own flower seeds to create a miniature windowsill garden to grow and care for at home.

Trail Adventure
Join us for a guided hike through our mile long loop trail while working on your Trail Adventure badge (not included). Play fun trail games, use different tools to get up close and personal with resident plant and animal species, and learn how to prepare for a day of fun-filled activities in the woods.

Outdoor Art Creator
Join us as we explore the different ways the natural world inspires us to imagine and create while working on your Outdoor Art Creator badge (not included). Create leaf and bark rubbings, have a nature dance party, illustrate flowers in the garden, and explore the sights and sounds of the great outdoors while collecting natural materials to create a trailside fairy house.

Eco Friend
Learn how to become a nature hero while working on your Eco Friend badge (not included). Learn the leave no trace principles and how to protect plants and animals on your next outdoor adventure. Embark on a hike to search for animal homes, practice making observations and looking closely, and learn how to protect your favorite outdoor spaces

Senses
Explore and investigate the gardens and trails while working on your Senses badge (not included). Search for different textures in nature, smell nectar rich flowers, listen to the calls of resident wildlife, and more on this sensory adventure.

Bugs
Explore the incredible world of insects as you work on your Bugs badge (not included). Take to the trails and search for some of your favorite six-legged friends, learn to use simple tools to catch and release insects, learn about insect homes, and take-home materials to try an insect inspired craft.
*Not offered November through March

Painting
Learn the basics of watercolor painting while working on your Painting badge (not included). Use our gardens and grounds as inspiration as you paint an outdoor landscape, practice conveying a feeling or mood, try painting with natural materials, and begin a mural depicting your favorite Girl Scout adventure.

Trail Adventure
Join us for a guided hike through our mile-long loop trail while working on your Trail Adventure badge (not included). Play fun trail games, use different tools to get up close and personal with resident plant and animal species and learn how to prepare for a day of fun–filled activities in the woods.

Outdoor Art Explorer
Join us as we explore the different ways the natural world inspires us to imagine and create while working on your Outdoor Art Explorer badge (not included). Explore animal adaptations, compose a nature symphony, create your own wearable nature impressions, and more as we embark on this artistic journey.
*Scouts are encouraged to bring a camera or smartphone to complete the full requirements for this badge.

Drawing
Learn the basics of illustration while working on your Drawing badge (not included). Draw a botanical still life, experiment with crosshatching and smudging, create a drawing from a bug’s-eye view, imagine your own botanically inspired cartoon character, and learn the basics of compiling your own art portfolio.

Flowers
Get up close and personal with some of your favorite plants while working on your Flowers badge (not included). Dissect a flower and tour the gardens to search for different plant species and their pollinators. Get creative by making an upcycled flower press and practicing the art of floral arrangement.
*2 hours, $300

Jeweler
Get creative and make your own unique jewelry pieces while working on your Jeweler badge (not included). Become familiar with a jeweler’s tools, wrap a caged stone necklace, design your own unique totem using materials from nature, and make a bracelet to give to a friend or relative.
*2 hours, $300

Gardener
Explore our gardens and conservatories and learn about garden design while working on your Gardener badge (not included). Explore the basics of garden design, learn how to pick the right plants for where you live, pot up your own seeds to start a container garden at home, and take home seeds to set up your own growing experiments.

Animal Habitats
Explore four different habitats and learn how living things meet their needs for survival while working on your Animal Habitats badge (not included). Embark on an adventure to find out what lives in our gardens and trails, build your own trailside animal shelter, and learn about endangered habitats by getting up close and personal with our favorite conservatory plants.

Trail Adventure
Join us for a guided hike through our mile long loop trail while working on your Trail Adventure badge (not included). Play fun trail games, start an adventure journal, practice trail safety, and learn how to prepare for a day of fun-filled activities in the woods.

Outdoor Art Apprentice
Join us as we explore the different ways the natural world inspires us to imagine and create while working on your Outdoor Art Apprentice badge (not included). Write a nature haiku, learn nature photography tips and tricks to practice capturing textures and patterns in the natural world, and try an art project powered by the sun or wind.
*Scouts are required to bring a camera or smartphone to complete the requirements for this badge.

Eco Trekker
Learn how to become a nature hero while working on your Eco Trekker badge (not included). Learn the leave no trace principles and how to protect plants and animals on your next outdoor adventure. Hike our trails, learn about invasive species, and explore native species that need a helping hand.

Trees
Become an arborist and learn about the amazing science of trees while working on your Trees badge (not included). Tour our heirloom apple orchard, learn how to identify trees, try a tree craft, and explore the relationships between trees, people, and animals.

CUB SCOUT PROGRAMS

Ready, Set, Grow!
Explore our cultivated gardens and learn the basic skills a gardener needs while working on the requirements of this elective adventure. Learn where the food we eat comes from and pot up your own edible container crop to grow and care for at home.

My Tiger Jungle
Come explore the gardens and grounds at Tower Hill and discover the sights and sounds of the great outdoors while working on the requirements of this core adventure. Join us on a one-foot hike, identify native bird species, and learn the basics of plant care by potting up a seed to grow and care for at home.

Grow Something
Tour the grounds and trails at Tower Hill to complete the requirements of this elective adventure. Learn about the resident plants and explore the basics of plant care by potting up your own seeds to grow and care for at home.

Fur, Feathers, and Ferns
Discover the flora and fauna of  Tower Hill as we identify signs of animal and plant life, make observations, and explore extinct species. Learn about our resident plants and explore the basics of plant care by potting up your own seeds to grow and care for at home.

Into the Woods
Explore the trails at Tower Hill to learn the basics of tree identification. Work on the requirements of this elective adventure as we identify the ways humans and animals rely on trees and investigate tree parts to uncover the stories they tell. Learn to identify the difference between native species and pot up your own plant to care for at home.

RESERVATIONS
To schedule a scout group program, please fill out this form or email youtheducation@nebg.org. We recommend you book your program at least one month in advance. Programs by request may be accommodated.

CANCELLATION POLICY
Please contact youtheducation@nebg.org or call 508.869.6111 x132, as soon as possible if you would like to reschedule or cancel your program. All changes must be requested no later than 2 weeks prior to your program date. Payment is due 5 days prior to the program date, and no refund will be processed if the cancelation is with 24 hours of the program. Exceptions can be made if the cancelation is mutually agreed upon due to severe weather or if the Garden has an unexpected closure on the day of your program.

QUESTIONS?
Please contact Youth Education at youtheducation@nebg.org. 

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