Cheekwood School Programs & Outreach Coordinator Kelly Ann Graff hands out magnifying glasses.
Featured Image above: Students from Nashville’s Glencliff Elementary School learn a song about the parts of a plant while on a field trip at Cheekwood.
A Cheekwood educator explains how lima bean seeds grow.
The sun is shining brightly on a beautiful late summer morning at Cheekwood, setting the perfect scene for an exciting adventure. As 80 kindergarteners from Glencliff Elementary School hop off school buses, their faces light up with anticipation on this fun Friday: Life is good – they are on a field trip!
Every year, Cheekwood welcomes between 10,000 to 12,000 students from Tennessee, Northern Alabama, and Southern Kentucky through the Destination Cheekwood School Field Trips program. This initiative offers free admission to all students and teachers, with the goal of giving children from pre-K through 12th grade the opportunity to spend a day in a stunning outdoor classroom, surrounded by nature and botanical gardens. Led by trained educators, the children experience the Bracken Foundation Children’s Garden, ponds, waterfalls, and even a Pumpkin Village this time of year.
On this particular field trip, the young explorers delve into the fascinating world of plants. Specifically, the various parts of a plant and what they need to grow from a seed into a thriving, living thing.
A Cheekwood educator, holding a handful of magnifying glasses, asks, “Does anyone know what these do?”
“They help us see better,” a little boy eagerly replies.
As the teacher distributes the magnifying glasses along with a lima bean seed to each child, she explains the parts of the seed. First, is the seed coat, or the outer layer that protects a seed embryo from the outside environment. The teacher explains how a seed coat is like a winter coat that we wear when it’s cold outside.
Then the teacher encourages the students to do some dissection. As they peel off the seed coat to find the inner parts of the seed, they see a bump inside – the food source. “This bump holds food for our seeds,” the teacher explains. “It’s how they get the energy to grow.” This little bump is like a stomach for the seed, which will grow into a plant if given soil, water, sunlight, and air.
Next the children learn about a plant’s roots, the stem, and leaves by examining a seedling that had sprouted in soil. Cheekwood educators describe how the roots, resembling white hairs or tiny strings, act like little tubes that carry water through the plant. It’s like the plant is taking a long drink of water, through a straw, straight from the ground. When a plant drinks water and receives enough nutrients, it sprouts leaves, flowers, fruits, and vegetables.
Kindergarteners examine the roots of a plant with magnifying glasses.
After playing in the dirt and taking a journey through the life cycle of a plant, the children learn a song about the parts of a plant. They begin the song crouched near the ground as if they are seeds, then stand up as their “stems” grow tall, extend their arms to sprout their leaves, and flourish into flowers by reaching their hands high to the sky. The lesson concludes with this playful activity highlighting the wonder of nature. It’s a moment to remember, perhaps inspiring more adventures on future visits to the gardens.
This is but a glimpse into what happens on a school field trip at Destination Cheekwood. Other topics include learning about pollinators and animal ecosystems, how trees communicate, multiculturism in the Blevins Japanese Garden, and much more. Field trip topics vary according to age group; some older students tour the Ann & Monroe Carell Jr. Family Sculpture Trail and learn about art, while others might tour the Mansion and learn about the history of Cheekwood. Every field trip curriculum meets state standards and is led by trained educators.
Cheekwood welcomed 11,915 students from 153 schools and 25 Metro Council Districts last year, thanks in large part to the annual Fall for Cheekwood benefit, which raises funds specifically for free school field trips. To learn more about this fall festival on October 6, click here.