What to Expect

Adaptations Slide Show

Click here to take a virtual tour of the amazing adaptations you'll encounter at the Conservatory.

The Tour:

The tour begins with students breaking up into groups of five to seven. Their trained jungle guide will escort them into one of the Conservatory's tropical galleries where kids will take a moment to record their initial sensory responses-what do they see, hear, feel?

Working with a digital thermometer and hygrometer (humidity reader) students will then define the non-living components of the ecosystem.

Through a process of mutual discovery, the guide will assist the students in exploring how the plants have adapted to get their basic needs met in the lowland tropics, tropical mountains and aquatic environments.

Students will encounter the giant Amazon water lily, the carnivorous plants of Borneo, the epiphytes of Costa Rica, Indonesia and Brazil, as well as the plants that produce chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon and much more.

The kids will compare the plants and climates of the different galleries as the tour progresses. They'll spend approximately 20 minutes in each gallery with five to seven minutes devoted to their Field Notebooks.

The Field Notebook

A field notebook is one of the most important tools for the field botanist. Observations, sketches, hypotheses and personal experiences all make their way into the notebook. This valuable book is not only a research resource, but becomes the explorer's personal journal.

Kids will receive a Jungle Explorer's Field Notebook upon arrival at the Conservatory. (Clipboards and pencils will be provided.) This learning tool reinforces the adaptations seen in each of the Conservatory's galleries using observation, comparison and measurement. In addition, it encourages personal responses to the discoveries made, planting the seeds for students to develop their own relationship to the plant world.

Back in the classroom, teachers can use the Field Notebook as a tool to evaluate the student's experience and writing skills. The environmental data collected and recorded in the Field Notebook can be used in the classroom in comparison and contrast exercises. There are also blank pages in the book for students to summarize their experiences.

Objectives of the Tour:

1. Students will understand how plants have adapted to their native habitats through a comparative study of the Lowland, Highland and Aquatic eco-systems of the Conservatory.
2. Students will have a basic understanding of what plants need to survive.
3. Students will understand ecosystems are also characterized by the non-living components-temperature, rainfall, elevation and humidity.
4. Students will have a fresh appreciation and awareness of the plant world.

California Standards Alignment

This program has been developed in alignment with the current California State Standards.

Fifth Grade State Standards
Life Science: 2, 2a, 2e, 2g
Earth Science: 3b, 3c, 3d
Investigation and Experimentation: 6a, 6d, 6f, 6g
Reading: 1.4, 2.1
Writing: 1.2a, b, c, 2.3
Written Convention: 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5
Listening and Speaking: 1.2, 1.3
Statistics and Data Analysis: 1.2, 1.3, 1.4

Fourth Grade State Standards
Life Science: 2, 3, 3a, 3b, 6, 6a, 6b, 6e, 6f
Writing: 2.1, 2.1A, 2.1C
Math: 2.0, 3.0
Statistics, Data Analysis: 1, 1.1, 1.3
Social Science: 4.1

Third Grade State Standards
Science: 1a, 1b, 2a
Life Science: 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e
Earth Science: 4d, 4d, 4e
Investigation and Experimentation: 5, 5a, 5c, 5d, 5e
Writing: 1, 1.1,1.3, 2.0
Listening and Speaking: 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

Total tour time:

75 minutes. One hour exploring the Conservatory, 15 minutes to organize at arrival and departure.

Schedule:

Docent-led tours are offered Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through
June 14, 2007.

Program time:

10:00 am-11:15 am.

Cost:

The Program is FREE to San Francisco public and private schools.

Chaperones:

To make your visit to the Conservatory safer and more enjoyable, at least one adult chaperone for every seven students is required.

Tours are on a space-available basis and advanced reservations are required.

Lunch:

There is no food service available at the Conservatory, nor is food permitted inside. If weather permits, students can have their bagged lunches on the lawn surrounding the Conservatory, or take advantage of the many available areas of Golden Gate Park.

Public Transportation:

The Conservatory is served by several public transit routes. From downtown, take SF MUNI buses #5, 7, 21, 71 or the MUNI-Metro N-Judah streetcar. From north of the Park, take Muni buses #33 or 44. From south of the Park, take MUNI buses #33, 44 or 71. For more information, visit MUNI's website or call the San Francisco Municipal Railway (415) 673-MUNI.