Monday-Friday | June 1 – September 2 | Mornings |
Children’s Ramada | Free with Admission
Join us this summer as we get in touch with nature and make some desert discoveries! Each week will focus on a different desert theme – from cactus to clouds. Come gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the desert we call home. There is something for everyone this summer at Desert Discovery Days! All ages are welcome. For Monday, Tuesday, and Friday activities please bring a hat and water bottle.

Mondays
The Private Eye
8:30am
Hone your observation skills as you become a Private Eye and investigate the natural world using a jeweler’s loupe to unlock microscopic realms. Please bring a hat and water bottle.

Tuesdays
Nature Journaling
8:30am
Bring your curiosity and wonder as we deepen our connection with nature through the art of Nature Journaling. Each week we will chronicle our Sonoran adventures in new ways. Please bring a hat and water bottle.

Wednesdays
Kids’ Meditation
8:30-9am
Keep it centered with a 30-minute meditation class for kids and families. All ages are welcome to learn the basics of meditation and techniques to deal with stress and find your inner calm.

Thursdays
Kids’ Yoga
8-8:45am
Get ready for child’s pose and more as we offer yoga for kids this summer! Certified instructor, Angie Vazquez will lead this 45-minute class perfect for ages 6 to 12-years-old. Children will improve flexibility and focus on breath as they practice outdoors in our beautiful gardens.
SCHEDULE
June
Week of June 6 –
WATER | This week’s theme is water. See what we have planned for the week below, including making your own bubble wand out of a pipe cleaner and beads:
Monday – take a trip to the riparian area to discover the world of water on leaves with Private Eye
Tuesday – add drawings of fish, aquatic plants, and insects to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read Alejandro’s Gift by Richard E. Albert
Week of June 13 –
ETHNOBOTANY | This week’s theme is ethnobotany. See what we have planned for the week below, including making beautiful nature paintings using nature’s paint brushes (leaves, branches, or blooms):
Monday – take a trip to the Ethnobotanical Garden to investigate plants before they become food with Private Eye
Tuesday – add drawings of native fruits and vegetables to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read Oh Say Can you Seed? by Bonnie Worth
Week of June 20 –
SUN & SOLAR ENERGY | This week’s theme is sun & solar energy. See what we have planned for the week below including, harnessing the sun’s energy to create cool rock art with melted crayons:
Monday – take a trip to the Sin Agua Garden to investigate the cell structure of plants with Private Eye
Tuesday – add drawings of plants from the Sin Agua Garden to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read Sunpainters Eclipse of the Navajo Sun by Baje Whitethorne
Week of June 27 –
SUMMER SEEDS | This week’s theme is summer seeds. See what we have planned for the week below, including planting a seed to take home with you and watch it grow:
Monday – take a trip to the Propagation Yard to see seeds up close with Private Eye
Tuesday – add drawings of different stages of plant life to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read Sip, Pick, & Pack: How Pollinators Help Make Seeds by Polly Cheney
July
Week of July 5 –
DESERT RESOURCES | This week’s theme is desert resources. See what we have planned for the week below, including making your own rope bracelet out of sisal (agave fibers):
Monday – closed July 4
Tuesday – add drawings of edible plants to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read This House is Made of Mud by Ken Buchanan
Week of July 11 –
SORTING IN NATURE | This week’s theme is sorting in nature. See what we have planned for the week below, including going on a leaf hunt to find old leaves and twigs to create critter collages:
Monday – take a trip to an ant hill for observation with Private Eye
Tuesday – add drawings of what you’d find in a packrat nest to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read Desert Night Shift A Pack Rat Story by Conrad J. Storad
Week of July 18 –
DESERT RAIN | This week’s theme is desert rain. See what we have planned for the week below, including making leaf impressions in clay to examine textures and shapes of the desert:
Monday – take a trip to the Desert View Trail to examine creosote with Private Eye
Tuesday – add drawings of plants that smell in the desert to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read It Rained in the Desert Today by Ken & Debby Buchanan
Week of July 25 –
WORLD OF FAIRIES | This week’s theme is the imaginary world of fairies. See what we have planned for the week below, including using household items to make our own fairy kaleidoscopes:
Monday – take a trip to the gardens to find the fairy duster plant with Private Eye
Tuesday – add drawings of what a fairy house looks like to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read Josefina Javelina A Hairy Tale by Susan Lowell
August & September
Week of August 1 –
CACTUS & SUCCULENTS | This week’s theme is cactus and succulents. See what we have planned for the week below, including filling in your saguaro cutout with leaves and desert debris:
Monday – take a trip to the Cactus and Succulent Ramada to observe plant patterns with Private Eye
Tuesday – add drawings of plant patterns and textures to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read Desert Giant by Barbara Bush and 100-Year-Old Cactus by Anita Holmes
Week of August 8 –
BIRDS | This week’s theme is birds and fine motor skills. See what we have planned for the week below, including punching stamps out of leaves:
Monday – focus on some bird feathers to study shape, color, and size with Private Eye
Tuesday – add drawings of a nest and its materials to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read Lizards for Lunch A Roadrunner’s Tale by Conrad J. Storad
Week of August 15 –
ARTHROPODS | This week’s theme is arthropods. See what we have planned for the week below, including weaving your own spiderweb out of yarn:
Monday – find and examine a spider web with Private Eye
Tuesday – add drawings of a chrysalis and the types of insects that might emerge to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read The Icky Bug Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta
Week of August 22 –
DESERT DISCOVERY | This week’s theme is desert discovery. See what we have planned for the week below, including building a nature mobile:
Monday – examine your hand and fingerprints with Private Eye
Tuesday – add a drawing of the desert critter that you identify with most to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read Why oh Why Are the Deserts Dry? by Tish Rabe
August 29 – September 2
MONSOON | This week’s theme is monsoon. See what we have planned for the week below, including creating your own rain stick from household items:
Monday – take a trip to the arroyo to see what you can find with Private Eye
Tuesday – add drawings of what’s in the sky to your nature journal
Wednesday – Kids’ Meditation
Thursday – Kids’ Yoga
Friday – read Storm on the Desert by Carolyn Lesser and Sing Down the Rain by Judi Moreillon
While you’re here exploring the gardens,
check out our on-site mobile scavenger hunts here!
Desert Players Perform
June 10, 21 & July 8, 19 | 10am | Education Center | Free with Admission
Join Tohono Chul’s Desert Players as they portray the long journey undertaken by Sandhill Cranes from northern arctic regions to the sunny Sulphur Springs Valley of southern Arizona where they spend the winter. This challenging migration is one of the great spectacles of the bird world.
This year’s live-action pantomime show, with engaging narration and music, tells the story of one small family of cranes among the larger flock. Admire the beautiful cranes, with their feathery antics, as they have encounters with an old friend, Night Eyes the Great Horned Owl, as well as an orphaned young eagle named Squeaky.
But Mountain Lion lurks in the shadows and he is always hungry. The cranes have to rely on their skills and cooperation to survive. Will they all make it through the winter to fly north once again on their long journey back to their summer home? After the show, the Players always enjoy posing for photos in their costumes.