For the Kid in All of Us
Playing, laughing and learning, the gardens at Tohono Chul provide a wonderful place to enjoy the day with your little one. Chasing lizards and butterflies or floating your boat down our children’s stream, your children will delight at the beauty of Tohono Chul. It’s a wonderful place to learn about the Sonoran deserts unique habitat and special critters and create lasting memories.
I’ve been bringing my granddaughters to play since they were toddlers and even now that they’re teenagers they always want to come back with me.
Julia Wait Bonse
Stories in the Garden
Tuesdays | 10 a.m.
Traditional and original stories about the desert and its creatures. Appropriate age range: preschool to 10:
Free with admission
Reptile Ramble
March – May & September – November | Fridays at 10 a.m.
Learn to identify resident reptiles and find the answer to the age-old question, “Why do lizards do push ups?” Be prepared to meet a few non-poisonous snakes, perhaps a lizard or even a tortoise. Free with admission
Not Just for Kids — Stories in the Garden features
The Desert Players in “One Starry Night!”
Tuesdays | June 4 | July 2 | August 6
10am | Ed. Ctr. #1 | Free with Admission
Rumpelpigskin and Jacqueline Jackrabbit listen as Granny Sweet tells the age-old story of how Grandmother Spider set out to place the stars in the sky in a neat and orderly manner until mischief-maker Coyote decided to “help!” As her story unfolds, a variety of nocturnal desert animals — bats, bobcats, coyotes, Gila monsters, owls and mice — go about their daily lives, all while we are sleeping. There is a light show, the possibility of dancing skeletons and an activity to take home.
GUIDED TOURS
For Schools:
With a focus on inquiry-based learning, the Park works to facilitate the integration of environmental education and life-science concepts into a multi-disciplinary curriculum. We can customize any tour to meet the specific needs of your group. For example, if your class is in a social studies unit on Arizona history, we can focus on the role of native plants in the lives of the indigenous people of the region. If our current indoor arts and culture exhibits are of special interest to your students, arrangements can be made to include them as part of your tour.
• Number of tour participants – 5 minimum | 60 maximum
• Number of student chaperons requested – 1 adult per 10 students
• Length of tour – approximately one hour
• Subjects – adaptations, birds, Sonoran Desert ecology, ethnobotany,
Riparian Habitat, Saguaro Discovery Trail, xeriscape landscaping, and
others by pre-arrangement
• Pre-visit materials and Guidelines for Teachers and Chaperones
• Arizona State Standards
• Desert Pathfinders Activity Booklet — for 1st-3rd grades a multi-page booklet (printed on legal paper) with 20 different desert activities to engage students
• Cost – $2 per student, free admission for 1 chaperone for every 10 children, $2 for each additional caperone
To schedule a tour for your school group please contact Stephen Spikes at sspikes@tohonochul.org
Fun and Smart Projects for Kids
Before your next visit, why not explore one of these activity sheets, great for a rainy (or too hot) day at home! Note: activity sheets are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format (portable document format) and some are for legal-sized paper (8-1/2 × 14″). (To access these forms you need the free downloadable software, Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
- Arizona: A to Z (requires legal paper)
- Desert Pathfinders Activity Booklet (requires legal paper)
- Monsoon
- Saguaros
- Seasons of the Saguaro
- For the Birds
Tohono Chul in your Library!
Each summer we travel to the Pima County Library branches with activities that weave the story of the Sonoran Desert into the theme of the libraries’ summer reading programs, linking valuable natural history lessons for children of all ages with the message to “read more about it.”
At your local Pima County library . . .
The Desert Players in “One Starry Night!”
Rumpelpigskin and Jacqueline Jackrabbit listen as Granny Sweet tells the age-old story of how Grandmother Spider set out to place the stars in the sky in a neat and orderly manner until mischief-maker Coyote decided to “help!” As her story unfolds, a variety of nocturnal desert animals — bats, bobcats, coyotes, Gila monsters, owls and mice — go about their daily lives, all while we are sleeping. There is a light show, the possibility of dancing skeletons and an activity to take home.
Wednesday, June 5 | 3pm | Mission Library
Wednesday, June 12 | 1pm | Arivaca Library
Saturday, June 15 | 1pm | Green Valley Library
Wednesday, June 19 | 3pm | Oro Valley Library
Friday, June 28 | 2pm | Abbett Library
Wednesday, July 3 | 10:30am | Martha Cooper Library
Monday, July 8 | 2pm | Woods Library
Friday, July 12 | 10:15am | Bear Canyon Library
Monday, July 15 | 10am | Catalina Community Center
Thursday, July 25 | 2pm | Wilmot Library