Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary

Location

1 Theodore Wirth Pkwy
Minneapolis, MN 55422
http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=4&parkid=340
Offers homeschool classes and field trip opportunities. A spectacular 15-acre garden in Minneapolis with trails meandering through woodlands, wetlands and oak savannas. This natural setting showcases over 500 plant species and 140 migratory birds.

[Homeschool Classes] [Field Trips] [Getting There]

Located in Theodore Wirth Regional Park, the Garden was founded by Minneapolis botanist and school teacher Eloise Butler and opened on April 27, 1907. She and other botany teachers successfully petitioned the Minneapolis Park Board to create a natural botanic garden to preserve native flora as the city grew. When visitors step behind the rustic gates at Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary, they quickly forget they’re in the middle of the city. A meandering trail takes visitors deep into nature’s wonderland, the quiet accented with the sounds of birds, insects, frogs and wind in the trees. The garden provides spectacular seasonal displays of native wildflowers in woodland, wetland and prairie areas. Each area creates a different habitat that fosters different types of plants, animals and birds.  Nestled in the garden is the Martha Crone Visitor’s Shelter where you will find natural history displays, natural history reference materials and friendly staff and volunteers waiting to help with Garden-related questions.  

Phone: 612-370-4903

Hours of Operation: The Garden is open from April 1st to October 15th. Programs are available 7 days a week from 9 am to an hour before sunset.

Homeschool Classes

The Garden offers Nature Explorers and Young Naturalists homeschool programs on topics from spring time to astronomy to water quality and everything in between.

Advanced Naturalist workshops are longer sessions that allow students to delve deeper into a topic. 

Dress for the weather and plan to do a lot of walking outside. Programs go out in all kinds of weather, but in the case of severe weather, a program may be rescheduled.

See www.minneapolisparks.org/documents/parks/EBWG/Homeschool.pdf for a list of current programs and dates. 

Contact Person: Lauren Borer
Contact Phone: 612-363-4722
Contact Email: lborer [at] minneapolisparks [dot] org

Cost per Child/Student: $5 to $12 depending on program length 
Cost per Adult/Educator: free

Maximum Class Size: 10 students for Advanced Naturalist programs and 20 students for Young Naturalist and Nature Explorer programs

Target Age Range/Grade Level/Prerequisite Skills: preschool through 8th grade 

Sibling Policy: All participating children must be enrolled in the program.
Parent/Guardian/Educator Policy:  All children must be accompained by a responsible adult.   

Cancellation Policy/Cancellation Deadline: 

 

Field Trips

See www.minneapolisparks.org/documents/parks/EBWG/Homeschool.pdf for a list of current available field trip topics, from spring time to astronomy to water quality and everything in between

Dress for the weather and plan to do a lot of walking outside. Programs go out in all kinds of weather, but in the case of severe weather, a program may be rescheduled.

Contact Person: Lauren Borer
Contact Phone: 612-363-4722
Contact Email: lborer [at] minneapolisparks [dot] org 

Cost per Child/Student: $5 to $12 depending on program length 
Cost per Adult/Educator: free

Minimum Group Size: unknown
Maximum Group Size: 20 students for Young Naturalists and Nature Explorers, 10 students for Advanded Naturalists 

Target Age Range/Grade Level/Prerequisite Skills: preschool through high school 

Sibling Policy: All participating children must be enrolled in the program.
Parent/Guardian/Educator Policy: All children must be accompained by a responsible adult

Cancellation Policy/Cancellation Deadline: unknown 

Gathering Place Recommendations: At Wirth Lake Beach parking lot. Naturalists can meet your group at the parking lot and guide you to the garden.

Getting There

Parking Information: Free parking at Wirth Lake Beach.

Driving Directions: 

From I-394: Exit I-394 at Penn Ave and follow Penn Ave north. Turn left at Glenwood Ave. The Theodore Wirth Beach Parking Lot will be on the right.  

From Hwy 100: Exit Hwy l00 at Glenwood Ave. Turn left on Glenwood Ave. The Theodore Wirth Beach Parking Lot will be on the left.  

From Hwy. 55: From Hwy 55 turn south onto Theodore Wirth Parkway. Turn left on Glenwood Ave. The Theodore Wirth Beach Parking Lot will be on the left.    

Metro Transit routes: 9C, 9D, and 9E

Upcoming events and classes

  • Fri, May 25
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Young Naturalist: Ornithology
    for ages 8 to 12, $6/child. Many migrating birds stop at the Garden for rest and fuel before heading farther north. Learn how to use binoculars to spot these feathered friends. Learn to use a field guide and the different terms used to describe markings on birds and key characteristics within families of birds.
  • Fri, Jun 15
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Nature Explorers: Which Niche?
    for ages 7-9, $6/child. Explore the three habitats of the Garden, woodland, wetland and prairie, and discover what niches plants and animals fill. Learn about food webs. Look for signs of wildlife from animal tracks to bird calls to insects. Figure out who does what in each habitat!
  • Fri, Jun 15
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Young Naturalist: Ancients of the Garden
    for ages 8 to 12, $6/child. There are plants at the Garden that have been around since the time of the dinosaurs! Ferns, horsetails, and mosses are some of the most ancient plants still growing on Earth. Learn how they are different from wildflowers, how they reproduce, and where they can be found.
  • Fri, Jun 29
    10:00am - 2:30pm
    Advanced Naturalist: Water Quality Investigations
    for ages 9 to 14, $12/child. Learn a little chemistry including the pH scale, common nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, and how these elements interact with each. Do hands-on water quality testing and look for aquatic insects and find out how they can be indicators of water quality at the Quaking Bog.
  • Fri, Aug 17
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Nature Explorers: Insectigations
    for ages 7-9, $6/child. Explore the prairie and wetlands looking for our six-legged friends! Students will learn how insects are grouped into families and learn how to recognize them in the field. Learn the important role pollinators play in the Garden and compare their athletic abilities to those of insects.
  • Fri, Aug 17
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Young Naturalist: Prairie Ecology
    for ages 8 to 12, $6/child. The sunflowers and goldenrods color the prairie trails in many shades of yellow. Learn more about why North America’s prairies are so important and what animals depend on prairie plants and landscapes. Create your own prairie field guide.
  • Fri, Aug 24
    10:00am - 2:30pm
    Advanced Naturalist: Butterflies & Dragonflies of the Garden
    for ages 9 to 14, $12/child. Explore the prairie and wetlands looking for Lepidoptera and Odonata. Learn the difference between butterflies and moths and between dragons and damsels and how these insects are grouped together. Look for these winged creatures and try to spot some of our most common species.
  • Fri, Sep 14
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Nature Explorers: Fruits, Nuts and Seeds of the Garden
    for ages 7-9, $6/child. What do we find in late summer and early autumn? Well, fruits of course! Learn the role that pollinators play in a plant’s life cycle. Find out how seeds travel and learn how to identify which seeds came from which plants. Take a hike in search of tree nuts, cones, and other kinds of seeds.
  • Fri, Sep 14
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Young Naturalist: Forest, Wetland & Prairie
    for ages 8 to 12, $6/child. Find out how nonliving elements of the environment affect living organisms within three different habitats. Compare the temperature, light, wind, plants and animals of the forest, wetland and prairie through drawing and writing. Discover why different plants grow in different habitats.
  • Fri, Sep 28
    10:00am - 2:30pm
    Advanced Naturalist: Tree-ology
    for ages 9 to 14, $12/child. How does a tree gets water from its roots to its leaves? How do you tell an ash from a walnut? What nutrients are essential for growth? Learn how to tell the age of a tree, use a dichotomous key to identify trees, and learn how trees adapt to changing conditions.

Past events and classes

  • Fri, May 11, 2012
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Nature Explorers: Creatures of the Air
    for ages 7-9, $6/child. Many migrating birds stop at the Garden for rest and fuel before heading farther north. Learn how to use binoculars to spot these feathered friends. Use common tools as beaks to discover what the shape of beak can tell you about what a bird eats. Learn a few new bird calls!
  • Fri, May 11, 2012
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Young Naturalist: Spring Ephemerals
    for ages 8 to 12, $6/child. An ephemeral is a flower that grows, blooms, and goes to seed all within a short period of time. Wander through the woods looking for these unique flowers in various stages of growth. Learn which flowers are true ephemerals and which ones are not.
  • Fri, Apr 27, 2012
    10:00am - 2:30pm
    Advanced Naturalist: Geology of Minnesota
    for ages 9 to 14, $12/child. Find out how Earth’s geological forces have shaped our state’s landscape and how it affects what types of plants grow at our Garden and Quaking Bog. Learn about minerals and rocks, fossils and watersheds and take a geology hike with your new found knowledge.
  • Fri, Apr 13, 2012
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Nature Explorers: Signs of Spring
    for ages 7-9, $6/child. Look for the earliest woodland spring wildflowers and discover a few of their unique adaptations to blooming so early. Search for the earliest spring migrating birds. Take a close look at the shrubs and trees to examine the leaf buds and twigs up close. Draw, sketch and learn about spring!
  • Fri, Apr 13, 2012
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Young Naturalist: Buds, Bark and Twigs
    for ages 8 to 12, $6/child. Learn how to identify some common Minnesota trees by their bark and their twigs. Take a close look at twigs and learn the stages of bud development. Walk through the Garden to see how the season gets started and spot some of the earliest blooming flowers!
  • Fri, Oct 7, 2011
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Nature of Autumn homeschool program for 3rd through 6th graders
    Registrations not accepted after Fri, Oct 7
  • Tue, Oct 4, 2011
    1:30pm - 3:00pm
    Signs of Fall homeschool program for 1st through 3rd graders
    Registrations not accepted after Tue, Oct 4
  • Mon, Oct 3, 2011
    2:00pm - 3:00pm
    Leaf Hunt homeschool program for Preschoolers and Kindergarteners
    Autumn arrives. Plants and animals begin to get ready for winter. Acorns and other nuts are buried by the squirrels and chipmunks. Leaves change color from green to red to yellow and more. Discover many different kinds of trees as they drop their leaves along the trails. Make your own leaf rubbing tree guide.
    Registrations not accepted after Mon, Oct 3
  • Fri, Sep 16, 2011
    1:00pm - 3:00pm
    Mushroom Madness homeschool program for 3rd through 6th graders
    Registrations not accepted after Fri, Sep 16
  • Tue, Sep 13, 2011
    1:30pm - 3:00pm
    Decomposers - Going, Going, Gone! homeschool program for 1st through 3rd graders
    Registrations not accepted after Tue, Sep 13

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