Get outdoors and unplug as the Arboretum celebrates the spring season! The N.C. Arboretum’s Nature Play Day celebrates western North Carolina’s wide variety of outdoor destinations and activities, and teaches families how spending time exploring and playing outdoors promotes a wide variety of positive physical, mental and emotional benefits. Build fairy houses and gnome homes, make a mud pie, catch a salamander and have a great time outside.
Archives
Grand Opening Weekend
- March, 11
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Mountain Science Expo
Join us for a free STEM-oriented science festival where you can interact with scientists, explore nature, and grow your curiosity!
The Mountain Science Expo is a part of the larger NC Science Festival, a state-wide and month-long event dedicated to celebrating the impact of science educationally, culturally, and economically on our state. The NC Science Festival and the Mountain Science Expo hope to inspire children to pursue—and adults to support—the sciences, such that North Carolina can lead the country and the world as a place of innovation and learning. This year’s theme, in fact, is “State of Innovation,” highlighting how science is being driven forward within North Carolina.
There is no additional cost to attend Mountain Science Expo beyond our standard parking fee. As always, Arboretum Society members and their accompanying guests can enter for FREE (guests must be in member vehicles to receive free entry).
- March, 11
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Intro to Botany for ecoEXPLORERS (8-13yrs)
Would you like to become a citizen scientist? Come to the Swannanoa Library for Intro to Botany, a program provided by the NC Arboretum. Examine specimens under a microscope, learn about the science of plants, and take a walk to see the plants in our area. Become an EcoExplorer and help us know more about what grows and lives in our community. Learn how to get your Botany Field Badge and free pass to the Arboretum!
- March, 11
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Intro to Botany for ecoEXPLORERS (8-13yrs)
Scientists need YOUR help in studying plants everywhere, including your own backyard! Join us for an introduction to ecoEXPLORE, a new initiative by The North Carolina Arboretum in partnership with the Buncombe County Library System. Participants will receive a free hand lens to aid their exploration, and upon registering as a participant at www.ecoexplore.net, receive an ecoEXPLORE patch. A special emphasis will be placed on botany, the study of plants. Find out how you can earn your botany badge and a free pass to the Mountain Science Expo on April 9th at the Arboretum. Recommended for ages 8 to 13 but all ages are welcome.
- March, 11
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ecoEXPLORE Kick-off (8-13yrs)
Calling all explorers! Join us for the kick-off of ecoEXPLORE, a new initiative by the North Carolina Arboretum in partnership with the Buncombe County Library System. Learn how to join our group of ecoEXPLORERS and help real scientists by taking photographs of plants and animals and sharing your observations with others.
Stop by the library on Saturday, March 12 to visit with The North Carolina Arboretum education staff and some of the Arboretum’s animal ambassadors including an eastern box turtle, black rat snake, American toad and more! We’ll show you how to use smartphones and tablets to earn prizes through the ecoEXPLORE program and contribute to science. Register as an ecoEXPLORER and get your own ecoEXPLORE patch!
This free program is recommended for ages 8 to 13 but all ages are welcome.
- March, 11
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Glitch Perfect: A Free Glitchmaking Workshop for Teens (12-18yrs)
Is a glitch still a glitch if you do it on purpose? These are the kind of questions asked in our technical workshop on glitch art and the power of breaking. Artist O.K. Keyes offers this free workshop in conjunction with her art installation Phantomythography: A Young Ghost Comes of Age. Queer Theory meets media art in this step by step process for creating your own glitchy GIFs using open source software. For ages 12-18.
- March, 11
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Multi-media Art Exhibit – Phantomythography: “A Young Ghost Comes of Age by Artist” O.K. Keyes (teens & adults)
A multi-projection video installation piece, exploring the fiction of memory and identity through the lens of a queer Southern space. A haunted forest is constructed through fragmented screens, upon which the distorted, disjointed narrative of two girls caught in a never ending game of chase unfolds. Free & open to the public – ONE DAY ONLY.
- March, 11
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Teen Cosplay Club (13+yrs)
Snacks will be provided
- March, 11
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LEGO Club (K-5th grade)
- March, 11
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