For Schools & Teachers

All school groups are welcome to visit the Gardens of Golden Gate Park free of charge.

With hundreds of rare and unusual plants at the Conservatory of Flowers, iconic natural beauty and tranquility at the Japanese Tea Garden, and 55 acres of plants from around the world at San Francisco Botanical Garden, the Gardens of Golden Gate Park are a vital resource for immersive educational experiences in the natural world.

Plan a field trip using our Group Visit Request Form, explore Teacher Resources below, download maps, and more.

Contact

Youth Education
(415) 661-1316

School Group Visits

We welcome all school groups, regardless of age, grade, or size of group, to come to the Gardens free of charge for a self-guided visit. Please follow the steps below to plan your school’s self-guided visit to the Gardens.

Request a Group Visit
Please use the Group Visit Request Form to register your interest in a group visit at least 4 weeks in advance. You can expect a response from us within 5 business days. Availability and access may vary based on the date, location, and size of the group.

Guided Walks
We are pleased to offer a limited number of Guided Walks to SFUSD K-3rd grade classes. Guided Walks will begin at 10:30am and are limited to a maximum of two classes (44 students) at a time. If interested in a Guided Walk, please indicate so in the Group Visit Request form.

Before Your Visit
Please review our Group Visit Information Sheet and Rules and Behavior Agreement and download the Visitor Map(s).

Group Visit Request Form

Teacher Resources

Redwood Scavenger Hunt – multilingual, PreK-2

Colorful images help engage your students’ senses, with text in English, Spanish and Chinese. Print your own or request a booklet for each chaperone to borrow for your visit

A First Look at Plants – PreK/K and Lower Elementary

Garden Sketching Activities – all grade levels

Sketching with Young Children

Conservatory of Flowers Tropical Trekkers Activity Booklet – K-5th grade (print copies are available onsite upon request)

Nature Explorers Activity Sheets – multilingual, Grades K-8

Teacher’s Guide – includes printable pages and suggestions to create nature booklets. Student versions in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog

Redwood Scavenger Hunt – multilingual, PreK-2

Colorful images help engage your students’ senses, with text in English, Spanish and Chinese. Print your own or request a booklet for each chaperone to borrow for your visit

Garden Sketching Activities – all grade levels

Sketching Guidelines

Sketching with Young Children

A First Look at Plants – PreK/K and Lower Elementary

Flowers – Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary

Plant Travelers – Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary

Web of Life – Lower Elementary Grades 2 or 3

Conservatory of Flowers Tropical Trekkers Activity Booklet – K-5th grade (print copies are available onsite upon request)

Exploring Rainforest Adaptations – 2nd-5th grade

Leaf Adaptation Experiment – 2nd-6th grade

Nature Explorers Activity Sheets – multilingual, Grades K-8

Teacher’s Guide – includes printable pages and suggestions to create nature booklets. Student versions in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog

Redwood Scavenger Hunt – multilingual, PreK-2

Colorful images help engage your students’ senses, with text in English, Spanish and Chinese. Print your own or request a booklet for each chaperone to borrow for your visit

Garden Sketching Activities – all grade levels

Sketching Guidelines

A First Look at Plants – PreK/K and Lower Elementary

Flowers – Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary

Plant Travelers – Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary

Web of Life – Lower Elementary Grades 2 or 3

Native People, Native Plants – Upper Elementary

Redwoods – Upper Elementary

Leaf Adaptation Experiment – 2nd-6th grade

Nature Explorers Activity Sheets – multilingual, Grades K-8

Teacher’s Guide – includes printable pages and suggestions to create nature booklets. Student versions in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog

Garden Sketching Activities – all grade levels

Sketching Guidelines

Habitats and Adaptations – Grades 6-12

Habitats

Plant Adaptation

Designed for older students, these printable pages encourage observation and reflection on plant adaptations and habitats in the Garden.

Habitats and Adaptations – Grades 6-12

Habitats

Plant Adaptation

Designed for older students, these printable pages encourage observation and reflection on plant adaptations and habitats in the Garden.

Garden Sketching Activities – all grade levels

Sketching Guidelines

Japanese Tea Garden

School group visits to the Japanese Tea Garden are booked in advance through the Gardens of Golden Gate Park Youth Education Department. View our guidelines for visiting school groups here.

Coming soon…

Interested in visiting the Children’s Garden?

Get directions to the Children’s Garden in San Francisco Botanical Garden and check out our Children’s Garden Activity Cards in English or Spanish for inspiration on how to spend your time in the Botanical Garden’s “yes space” for kids.

Download Children’s Garden Map

Plan your parking and transportation

There is bus parking outside of Golden Gate Park’s nursery (100 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, westbound). After unloading buses, your group is welcome to park along MLK Dr. wherever there is public parking – there’s often space for another bus or two near the park’s nursery.

Transportation & Parking Info

For Schools & Teachers