For Educators

Field Trips & Youth Tours
Please note: At least three weeks’ advance notice is needed for guided tours. Email tours@morrisarboretum.org to schedule an outdoor educational experience to enhance your students’ at-home or hybrid school instruction.
Choose from the following field trip tours:
General Tour (All Ages)
Duration: 60 minutes
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Explore our 92-acre living museum
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See the tree highlights
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Learn about the Morris’s history
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Meets PA Academic Standards: 3.3 Biological Sciences, 4.6 Ecosystems and Their Interactions
For more information or to schedule a field trip, email tours@morrisarboretum.org.
What Tree Am I? Tour (3rd Grade and up)
Duration: 60 minutes
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Morris Arboretum & Gardens is home to some of the oldest, rarest and largest trees in Philadelphia
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Take a closer look to discover the amazing diversity of the trees around us
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Examine the unique characteristics of trees and discover which tree you are most like
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Meets PA Academic Standards: 3.3 Biological Sciences, 4.6 Ecosystems and Their Interactions
For more information or to schedule a field trip, email tours@morrisarboretum.org.
Scout Tour (All Ages)
Duration: 60 minutes
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Morris Arboretum & Gardens provides the perfect resource to help complete many nature-themed Boy and Girl Scout badge requirements, including Forestry, Nature, Flowers, Trees, and more.
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When scheduling your tour, please feel free to include your particular project needs. We’ll be happy to tailor our many tours and activities to help fulfill specific badge requirements, making your trip to the Morris both fun and productive.
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Scout groups with tour reservations will receive the Morris Arboretum & Gardens Fun Patch!
For more information or to schedule a field trip, email tours@morrisarboretum.org .
Awaken the Senses – Customizable Tours for Students with Disabilities (All Ages)
Duration: 45 - 60 minutes
Guided tours experiencing the sights, sounds, smells and textures in nature with trained guides.
You may select from three customizable tour options:
1. Creativity & Discovery: My Nature Collection Box
- Personalize “My Nature Collection Box” with a wide assortment of craft supplies
- Guided walk into the garden to collect a bounty of natural materials: fallen leaves, twigs, acorns, cones, etc.
- Journey through the Rose Garden to the Summer Palace, to sort and discuss your findings with the group.
More information
Walking distance: ¼ mile or less
Terrain: paved paths
2. Adventure & Exploration
- Experience the Rose Garden’s Rock Wall, bursting with textures and colorful displays of succulents and flowers.
- Explore the Fernery, a one of a kind explosion of ferns, secret stone paths, wooden bridge and koi fish pond.
- Conclude your adventure by climbing the specially designed nature trail and spot the birds and chipmunks.
More information:
Walking distance: ½ mile or less
Terrain: paved paths, large-stoned inclined hiking trail
3. Tranquil Connection with Nature
- Inspire a sense of wonder 50 feet in the air with a bird’s eye view of nature from Out on a Limb.
- Ramble to an open grassy area to play the Five Senses Cube Toss game, reinforcing the connection with nature.
- Seek out the rustic Log Cabin, listen to the sounds of the babbling brook, and wander through the pathways. Take a moment to meditate and enjoy tree yoga.
More information:
Walking distance: ½ mile or less
Terrain: paved paths, grass
For more information or to schedule a field trip, contact: tours@morrisarboretum.org.
4 Seasons Through the 5 Senses Tour (PreK through Kindergarten)
Duration: 60 minutes
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Take a sensory journey through the Morris
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Learn the natural characteristics of each season
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Collect plant material to bring back to the classroom
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Meets PA Academic Standards: 3.3 Biological Sciences
For more information or to schedule a field trip, email tours@morrisarboretum.org.
Tree Adventure Tour I (K - 3rd Grade)
Duration: 60 minutes
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Learn responsibility from a tree
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Leaves are responsible for producing food
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Bark is responsible for protecting the trunk
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Roots are responsible for absorbing water and storing food
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People are responsible for taking care of trees in their neighborhoods
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Meets PA Academic Standards: 3.3 Biological Sciences, 4.6 Ecosystems and Their Interactions, 4.8 Humans and the Environment
For more information or to schedule a field trip, email tours@morrisarboretum.org.
Teacher’s Guide: Download the Pre and Post Visit Guide and Activities
Our Connected Environment (4th – 8th Grade)
Duration: 60 minutes
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Identify ways in which trees, animals and humans depend upon each other
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Learn about oxygen and other gifts we get from trees
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Observe PA hardwood trees and discuss their ecological and economic importance
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Learn ways to practice good stewardship at home, school and in the community
For more information or to schedule a field trip, email tours@morrisarboretum.org.
Wetlands Exploration Tour (K - 7th Grade)
Available September through June only
Duration: 60 minutes
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Explore The Morris Arboretum & Gardens Wetland on foot
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Discover the function of wetlands and why they are so vital to nature
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Observe and record the different plants and animals that thrive in a wetland
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Explain the environmental and economic consequences that can arise with the loss of wetlands
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Brainstorm ways we can help safeguard wetlands for the future
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Meets PA Academic Standards: 4.3 Environmental Health, 4.7 Threatened, Endangered and Extinct Species, 6.3 Scarcity and Choice
For more information or to schedule a field trip, email tours@morrisarboretum.org.
Historic Mill Tour (5th grade and up)
Duration: 60 minutes
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Travel back in time by walking in the shoes of a miller’s apprentice
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Discover how cutting-edge technology from the 1850s used simple machines to harness water power
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Learn how nearby Flourtown got its name
Teacher’s Guide: Download the Pre and Post Visit Guide and Activities
For more information or to schedule a field trip, email tours@morrisarboretum.org.