Birthday Parties ▼
Celebrate your milestones in nature!
The Brenton Arboretum is a great place to celebrate birthdays for young and old alike. Avoid the hassle of hosting a party at home and opt for the great outdoors instead.
Classroom Visits ▼
Teachers, you can book a program to have staff from the arboretum come visit your classroom.
Elementary Programs:
All About Trees: Pre K-1st grades
All About Birds: K-2nd
Lifecycles: K- 2nd
Middle and High School Programs:
Iowa Ecology: 6th-10th
Events ▼
Check out our calendar for events for kids and families.
Field Trips ▼
The Brenton Arboretum offers a wonderful natural world for students to explore. Our outdoor learning programs features trees, streams, prairies, ponds, wildlife, and woods. FIELD TRIPS during the academic school year are FREE for school groups. Summer care facilities, homeschoolers, camps, churches, etc. can book a field trip for $3/ head;$50 minimum.
Some Popular Field Trip Activities:
- Insect Safari- Through our preserved insect collection and insect safari, students explore the amazing world of insects. They also learn about the lifecycles of butterflies and dragonflies.
- Pond Dip- Investigate our Lake Homestead using dipping nets and specimen containers to make close observations. Study the life cycles of frogs and dragonflies, while searching for other macro- invertebrates.
- Orienteering- Learn the basics of navigation using compasses and maps and learn to follow close directions. The beginner course takes 15 minutes. The advanced course takes 45 minutes.
- Hooves, Leaves, & Buffalo Chips- Role play a board game trivia style game in an interactive relay style true/ false trivia on native Iowa natural history and ecological world.
- Guided Hike
- Oak Forest- Role play population dynamics of an oak population.
- Nature Play- Visit our O’Brien Nature Play ground.
Middle and High School Students can also book a field trip. Some of our popular options include:
Guided Hike (multiple themes)
Art students come for a day of Plein Air Painting
Citizen Science ( Come conduct a butterfly or bird survey).
Home- schoolers▼
Nature Club – Bring your kids(ages 2-5) out on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays from 10:30-11:30 am. Join in games, stories, exploration, crafts, songs, and play time. Explorer Bingo Stamps Available.
Acorn Academy- Bring your kids (ages 6 and up) on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays from 9:00-10:00 am to explore the arboretum and investigate various natural resource themes.
Nature Playground ▼
Swing from a log, jump across bales, hide in a tunnel. Come for a play date.
Scout Troops ▼
Bring your troop to the Brenton Arboretum for a program to compliment badge and patch requirements.
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