Dear Garden Supporter,
We have exciting news to share with you. Last year a generous donor made a pledge to support our children’s programs at the $10,000 level. It was a matching gift opportunity and with your help, we raised $26,000. This opportunity is available again this year thanks to several generous donors. Our goal this year is to raise $40,000.
Your gifts last year helped us to offer you and thousands of families an exciting Maze exhibit, Butterfly House exhibit and a World of Wonders children’s garden. Our expert Garden teachers were on hand to provide daily reading programs at the “Acorn Academy”, taught the life cycle of butterflies, and were able to teach children about nature, different cultures and environmental stewardship in WOW.
Just think, if you make a gift of $100, the Garden will receive $200 to keep our children’s programs growing. Your gift will have twice the impact and that is quite an investment.
Next year’s summer exhibit “Voyage of Discovery” will focus on all types of boats and plants. With your support, next year at the Garden will be just as amazing for thousands of families.
Many of us are facing challenging times so any amount you can give will be very much appreciated. Our generous donor has made this matching opportunity available for three months between now and the end of January. Your donation will be appreciated by many.
Your support of WOW makes a difference!
- 14,607 School children enjoyed a field trip to WOW
- 3,902 Families joined our membership program
- 848 Boy Scouts & Girl Scouts participated in WOW programming
- 61 Children have celebrated their birthday parties in WOW
WOW
Each day throughout the year there are different WOW activities provided by Garden Teachers. Below are example activities that our WOW families experience.
Garden Storytime: a half hour program offered on Wednesdays. A Garden Teacher reads a story and then leads a Garden exploration. From jungle adventures to those three little pigs, each week features a different tale with plenty of pictures and props to delight the senses. An exploration of the Garden looks at some of the plants featured in the story.
Tunes for Tots: Children develop their motor and language skills and learn about nature through 
music, rhymes and other activities led by a Garden Teacher each Tuesday morning. Weather permitting, this takes place in our “Plantitheater” behind Exploration station. This program is so popular it is limited to the first 75 guests to arrive each day.
Seed Planting: Children plant a seed to take home. They learn what plant needs to grow and the plant life cycle.
Composting: Children learn what compost is, how it is made, and why it is good for plants. Insects in the Garden: Children observe insects in the garden. They learn insect adaptations (physical and behavioral) while observing insects in their natural setting.
Butterfly Metamorphosis: Children observe monarch caterpillars in the milkweed plants. They discover the life cycle of butterflies in different stages.
Dragonfly Id Walk: Using a field guide picture book, children try to identify dragonflies with their colors and wing patterns. They learn the metamorphosis of a dragonfly.
Desert Plants Talk: Children learn desert plant adaptations and how they were used by the Pueblo Native Americans for food and clothing.
Rainforest Craft: Children learn the different rainforest plant layers and make a craft.
Discover Seeds: Children learn different seeds, their sizes and the plants they will grow to be.
Cereal Ingredients Scavenger Hunt: Children learn to identify what are grain, fruit, sugar and oil plants, the ingredients they find in their cereal.
Fruit and Veggie Cart: Children have fruits and Vegetables on a “Sellers Cart.” Garden Teachers talk about the parts of the plant.
WOW Clue: Children follow clues in the Plant Safari to find habitats and the animals that make up a food chain.
Tree Rings: Children learn how trees grow using tree cookies, and about natural occurrences that effect growth.
Bird Watching Bingo: Children learn to identify bird behaviors with a bingo game. Garden Teachers use a Bird Call box to teach about communication.
Recycled Art: Children reuse “trash” to create art and useful materials. Examples include birdfeeders, toys and musical instruments.
Owl Pellets: Guests work with a Garden Teacher to dissect and “owl pellet” and discover what it ate. The animal is t
hen identified using a chart. This activity teaches about the food chain and the structure of animal skulls.
Powhatan Discovery: Items used by the Powhatan people are shown. Families learn how natural materials, both plants and animals, were utilized by the Native Americans.
Create a Salad or Salsa Scavenger Hunt: Using Discovery Peak, children find all of the ingredients that create a delicious dish.
Norfolk Botanical Garden is a 501(c)(3) organization, and donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
