Brookgreen Gardens Homeschool Explorers Program
The Homeschool Explorers Program at Brookgreen Gardens offers children aged 5 to 13 years an exciting and educational experience. Each themed session features hands-on, standards-based lessons about nature, history, and art. Activities may include tours of exhibits, live animal presentations, S.T.E.M. challenges, and creative crafts to take home.
Program Details:
Age Range: 5 to 13 years
Parent Participation: Parents are required to actively participate with their children throughout the program.
Registration: Opens at 12:01 a.m. on the Wednesday, two weeks before the program date (e.g., September 27 for the October 11 or 12 programs).
Program Fee: $7.00 per student (Member discounts do not apply).
Parent Admission: One parent/teacher per family attends for free.
Age Restriction: No children under 5 years old or over 13 years old are allowed to attend.
Capacity: Limited to 50 participants (students and parents). Pre-registration is required—no walk-ins will be permitted.
Payment: Payment is due at the Admissions Plaza on the program day. Please bring your receipt to the registration table at the Lowcountry Center Complex.
Registration Process:
Please submit one registration form per family online via the "Register Here" link below.
If you are unable to attend, please notify us by emailing [email protected] so that we can accommodate a family from the waiting list. Repeated no-shows without notice may result in being red flagged for future programs.
Program Time: 10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (Gate opens at 9:30 a.m.)
Homeschool Explorers Fall 2026
Location: Leonard Pavillion | Time: 10:00AM – 12:30PM
September 9 - 10
From Garden to Table
Follow the journey of food through the garden as students discover how every living thing is connected to nature's food chain. Participants will investigate how plants capture energy from the sun to become producers, explore the important roles of consumers and decomposers, and build simple food chains and food web models that show how energy moves through an ecosystem. Through visits to Bethea's Garden and the observation of beehive, students will learn how pollinators help plants produce the fruits and vegetables we eat while discovering how gardens support a healthy food chain. Through STEAM activities, sensory exploration, and food web investigations will help students connect science, agriculture, and the food web.
1.L.5A. Plants have specific structures that help them survive, grow, and produce more plants. Plants have predictable characteristics at different stages of development.
3.L.5A.2 Develop and use models (such as a food web), to classify organisms as producers, consumers, and decomposers and to describe how organisms obtain energy.
October 14 - 15
Nature's Quest
Step into the wonder of the natural world and become a nature explorer for the day. Students will investigate a variety of garden habitats through guided observation, comparing the plants and animals that live within them, and discovering how biodiversity supports healthy ecosystems. Working together to solve challenges and complete a hands-on STEAM activity, participants will use observation and problem-solving skills to explore the connections between living things and their environments. The program concludes with a nature-inspired art project for students to take home.
2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare patterns of diversity within different habitats.
3-LS4-4. Make a claim about the effectiveness of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and affects organisms living there.
November 11 - 12
Amazing Adaptations
Become an adaptation detective and discover the remarkable features that help plants and animals survive in their environments. Through guided exploration of the Lowcountry Zoo and interactive investigations, students will observe how living things are suited to the habitats they call home. Using inquiry, critical thinking, and close observation, participants will examine how environmental conditions influence survival and explore the traits that help organisms grow, thrive, and succeed in different ecosystems.
3-LS4-3. Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can thrive, struggle to survive, or fail to survive.
3-LS3-2. Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.