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Allow us to presents our program of workshops for kindergarten and pre-school groups. The purpose of these workshops is to teach our youngest visitors to observe their immediate surroundings and accept it as their own. The Botanic Garden is a piece of real nature in the very center of Ljubljana and within easy reach of its inhabitants. A wide range of topics may make you wish to return to the Garden several times in the course of the same month or in different seasons, yet the topic will never be the same as on your previous visit. Children love our workshops because they take part in all activities and so never get bored. Children take their workshop products back home. The knowledge of the world of plants is sadly in decline not only in our country but also in the world at large. Our expertly trained collaborators make children aware of the nature in which we live but hardly notice at all. We suggest you take a look at our program of topics and schedule of charges, see how you register for a guided tour and then visit us right away! Program of workshops and tours Detailed Program of Workshops and Tours Heralds of Spring In the early spring time the lovely spring flowers we know so well - snowdrops, primroses, hellebores, crocuses, winter aconites - are blooming in the Botanic Garden .... A colourful carpet below the still leafless trees. Late spring in the Garden and in a puddle The trees have already developed its foliage. Beneath them you will find ramsons exuding its charactestic odour. More and more plants are in bloom; pink peonies, common laburnum ... In the warm morning hours we can go and observe all that lives in water. There are floating plants and underwater plants, snails, shells, water striders and water beetles, newts, frogs, dragonflies, fish, and - if it is our lucky day - we shall also see a tortoise sunbathing on waterlilies. Blooming Summer In summer the Garden lawns are covered with blooming flowers and shrubs, the garden beds are full of flowers in dazzling colours. We shall get familiar with and also draw a picture of the loveliest among them. Autum in the Garden The leaves have assumed warm autumnal colours and are already beginning to fall away. We shall collect different leaves and shall also try to draw them. Among the maturing fruits there are some that we already know: nuts, tomatoes, beech nuts and acorn, chestnuts, and maple tree "helicopters". Winter in the Botanic Garden Much is to be seen in the Garden also during winter: witch hazel begins to bloom in January. Birds besiege the Garden feeding spots. We shall examine and name the seeds that they eat. Looking for Adventure Who will be the first to find a snail shell? Whose cone is the biggest of all? How many of us must hold hands to form a circle around the linden tree aged 190 years? How does it feels to caress a tender newt? What does the goldfish feed on? Do snails also live in water? What colour is the waterlily? Let us take a look at a tulip flower! How does a peanut grow? Propagation of Plants Who could not be interested in the development of a plant from its seed? Cutting up a juicy orange, an acid lemon, a large grapefruit, we remove their seeds and carefully put them into soil. We discuss the reason why the bottom of the flower pot has a hole in it, why a shard should be placed over the hole, why plants need water, how a new plant will develop from the seed. At minimal care tiny new plants will in some weeks shoot up from the kernels. Visit us again and learn how to transplant young plants that already have roots of their own. Fruits and Distribution of Plants The plants of our part of the world as well as those of other countries terminate the growth period through the maturing of their fruits. Some fruits are widely known while others attract attention for their unusual shape. Some are edible while others may be worked into animal shapes. Some are encased in a hard shell, others are juicy and odorous. How many fruits are we going to enumerate? Plants and Animals in the Pool In the warm morning hours we can go and observe all that lives in water. There are floating plants and underwater plants, snails, shells, water striders and water beetles, newts, frogs, dragonflies, fish, and - if it is our lucky day - we shall also see a tortoise sunbathing on waterlilies. Carnivorus Plants Slovenia is also the home of some carnivorous plants. They feed on insects that get caught on the sticky drops forming on their leaves. Some of them are from foreign countries, say, pitcher plants that drown insects in their water-filled pitchers or flytraps whose folding leaves entrap an imprudent insect within seconds. Tropical Greenhouse Though no monkeys fool around our jungle, banana trees thrive there quite splendidly. Bananas keep company to other famous plants: coffee, pepper, ananas plants, a mimosa that folds up its leaves if touched, blooming orchids .... The Trees of Our Forests How many trees do we recognize when taking a walk through a forest? Beech, oak, spruce? What about chestnut and cherry, maple and birch? What is the difference between spruce and fir? We shall take a look at some of our best known trees, collect their leaves and paste them beside the bark imprint that we shall also prepare here. In autum when leaves take on vivid colours and drop from trees, we shall make imprints of leaves. The Hour of Fairy Tales and Songs in the Botanic Garden What was Little Red Ridinghood picking when encountering the wolf? What do the pansies and Cinderella's stepmother have in common? Who was the heroine called Rapunzel? Why did Sleeping Beauty fall asleep? Why do narcissi bend their heads? Why are wood anemones also called "little shirts"? Who knows the song about a watermelon? Slovenian as well as world literature has a rich fund of stories about plants. Children are familiar with fairy stories of this kind. Let them now learn also about the plants behind the fairy tales! Creating with plants: making Greeting Cards, Pictures, Animals... from Flowers and Leaves Come to us before the spring or winter holidays, we shall design lovely "plant" greeting cards.
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