School Tours and Programs
Led by trained nature interpreters, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden offers walking tours and interactive activity stations that help educate students about the Golden State. Tours and programs convey the importance of native plants, cultures of indigenous people and natural history of California. Designed to engage students through hands-on activities, tours and programs align with the history-social science content standards for California public schools.School tours and programs are conducted from October to mid-June.
Tours and programs fill quickly. Reservations for each month close on the 15th of the previous month. Payment must be made in advance. We accept MasterCard, Visa or checks made payable to RSABG. Sorry, we no longer accept purchase orders.
A maximum of 80 students can be accommodated on a one-hour tour or a two-hour program. We require one adult to accompany each group of 10 students. We ask that adults do not bring toddlers or infants to guided school tours or programs. School tours and programs are conducted outdoors and involve walking on uneven pathways. Advise students and adults to dress appropriately.
Please notify the registrar of students with special needs.
For more information, please call (909) 625-8767, ext. 224 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
An Hour of Guided Exploration
Walking tours led by nature interpreters on Tuesdays at 9:30 and 10 a.m.
Cost: $4.50 per person (teachers free). Minimum 10 paid participants. Free bus parking.
Tours include "A Sensational Walk" and "A Sense of California."
A Sensational Walk
Students use their fingers, noses, eyes and ears to observe their environment and the sensory properties of plants.
Many of us rely heavily on the sense of sight to explore our surroundings. Nature interpreters lead students through the Garden and encourage them to use their senses to gather information about the environment. Sight, smell, hearing and touch all come into play as children are introduced to native plants along the paths.
(Kindergarden - fourth grade)
Science Content Standards for California
A Sense of California
Explore the diversity of California’s geography, habitats and native plants.
Our Garden showcases California’s unique plants and their distinctive habitats. It is a dynamic place, constantly changing with the cool and heat of the day, the cycles of flowering plants, the migration of birds, and the infinite transformations in nature that come with the predictable cycle of seasons. This introductory tour of the Garden is adaptable for students of various ages and caters specifically to their quest for knowledge about California’s natural heritage.
(Kindergarden – twelth grade and adults)
Science Content Standards for California
Two-hour Garden programs
Walking tours led by nature interpreters with activity stations on Thursdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m.
Two-hour Garden programs include "A Bird's Life," Native Partners" and "Web of Life." Programs include hands-on activity stations and a tour through California native plant collections.
Cost: $4.50 per person (teachers free). Minimum 20 paid participants.
A Bird’s Life: Adaptation and Survival Strategies of Birds
This program helps students examine the unique physical structures (feathers, bones, beaks, feet) and behaviors (flying, nesting, feeding) that enable birds to survive in diverse habitats. A walk through the Garden offers views of numerous native and migratory bird species and taxidermy displays offer students an opportunity to carefully study birds up close. Third grade: Addresses life science content standards for third grade.
Science Content Standards for California
Native Partners: California Plants and California Indians
California Indians have had a complex understanding of their environment that was historically critical to their survival. Today, Native Indians living in California continue to practice traditions and customs handed down through many generations. Participating in activities that demonstrate how California Indians selected, gathered, prepared and used a variety of native plants for food, tools, medicine and basketry, students can learn valuable lessons about living with the land. Third and fourth grades: This program augments social studies curriculum on California Indians for fourth grade. Navigate to our download education forms page to download the Native Partners teachers' packet.
Check-out Kits Available
Native Partners: Indian Uses of Native Plants
$40 for a two-week loan period
Two-box set includes display materials, an artifact matching game and instructional materials. Recommended for use in tandem with the Native Partners Program. Available by reservation only.
Science Content Standards for California
Web of Life: The Study of Ecological Relationships and Diversity of Life
Many species of plants and animals living in the Garden are involved in complex ecological relationships. Students will investigate relationships between specialized creatures that inhabit various ecosystems. Hands-on activities include a pond water pollution experiment and owl pellet dissection. Fourth through sixth grades: This program focuses on food webs, energy flow and interdependence among living organisms.