WORKSHOPS
Here you can find everything about our workshops in the Botanic Garden
General information:
- Cost per pupil: € 7,- (incl. material)
- Contact with insects/allergens (bee stings, pollen,...) possible
- We recommend weatherproof clothing & shoes
- Honey bee workshop: we recommend light-colored clothing with long sleeves / pants!
- Workshop duration: 2 hours
- Meeting point: entrance area of the show greenhouses, Schubertstraße 59, 8010 Graz
MAKER GOES BIOLOGY: Build your own measuring devices!
How can plant communities be scientifically measured without disturbing them? Spectral measurements - i.e. measurements that are scanned by light or radiation - are becoming increasingly important in ecology as reliable, inexpensive and sustainable scientific methods. In this workshop we will talk together about these measurement methods and make our own devices that can be produced with inexpensive Arduinos and Raspberry Pi's. NO previous knowledge or experience is required for the workshop!
6th - 12th grade
COCONUT + HUSK: Nature as inventor!
What does your bicycle helmet have to do with a coconut? Which plant always stays clean? And what are the "musical instruments" of grasshoppers? We look at parallels between technology and nature and discover ingenious methods that have developed in nature. By the way: Do you also use Velcro? Plants have long shown us how effective such structures are.
In this workshop, the class splits into 2 groups: One goes on a foray through the garden & greenhouses to discover plants with "clever" adaptation strategies. The other tinkers with cool experiments on the subject of bionics in the workshop room of the Historic Glass House. After an hour, the groups switch.
5th - 12th grade
OFF TO THE TROPICS!
Off to the tropics: you don't have to fly for hours to experience a rainforest atmosphere here in Graz, in the Tropical House of the Botanical Garden. In a playful and varied way, children learn where exotic fruits originate, how a rainforest is structured, what special features are hidden in the thicket of the "green lungs of the earth" and what makes this amazing ecosystem so valuable.
2nd - 8th grade
Animal BIOBLITZ in the Botanical Garden
As part of this workshop, we take a tour of the Botanic Garden in search of various hymenoptera, hexapods and octopods. Not only will we get to know exciting organisms, but also different habitats.
For our exploration tour, we use an app with which you can document all species and make them available to science in the form of photos. There are also tips on how you can best promote these animals in your own garden and thus contribute to the preservation of biodiversity.
Various focuses possible: bees, wasps, ants / arachnids / beetles, butterflies, cicadas, bugs, grasshoppers, hymenoptera, dragonflies & co.
KOMM MIT: On the trail of honey bees
Experience the fascinating world of honey bees and visit them in their home. You can learn lots of interesting things about them: Observe them as they go about their daily work, go in search of the queen or experience first-hand when a young bee hatches from its cell. Find out which flowers in the botanical garden honey bees and other bee species use to collect pollen and observe the honey bees as they return to the hive entrance.
1st - 12th grade
ON A GREEN MISSION: The leaf and what it can do!
What makes a plant a plant? And what do all plants have in common, what makes them different?
Alongside roots and shoots, leaves are one of the basic organs of plants. In our new workshop series, everything revolves around the leaf: where on the plant do we find leaves, what can they look like and what do plants actually need them for? We will wander through the botanical garden and look for the most adventurous "leaves", which we will then examine together in the workshop room.
1st - 8th grade
CLIMBING, SUPPORTING, HOLDING: What plants show us!
What can we learn from nature? This time, we will roam the botanical garden in small groups and keep an eye out for plants that have found clever strategies to "gain a foothold" in their ecological location in the best possible way. Together we will discuss technical applications whose function is inspired by plants.
VEGETABLE RAW MATERIALS from around the world
In this workshop, we will focus our "green exploration tour" on plants that are used as raw materials in various forms. Does the jojoba bush actually produce oil? What is the best way to use the coconut palm? And why don't many of these highly utilized plants also grow here? We want to answer these and many other questions on our little botanical world tour.
Various focuses possible: e.g. food, fibers, cosmetics
CUTTING COURSE POME FRUIT
For hobby gardeners and professionals: This course provides lots of interesting information about pruning pome fruit trees such as apples and pears. We start theoretically and discuss growth laws and different forms of training. In the practical part, we will practise pruning spindles and crowns in the open field!
with Jonathan Wilfling, Bsc / Technical Manager Bot. Garden
- DateA: Saturday, 02.03.2024, 10 - 12 o'clock
- DateB: Saturday, 02.03.2024, 13 - 15 o'clock
- Costs: € 30,-
- Number of participants: 5 - 10
- Meeting point: Foyer, greenhouses / botanical garden, Schubertstr. 59, 8010 Graz
What to bring: Weatherproof clothing and footwear, own secateurs/saw (if available)
Allergy information: Contact with insects and allergens such as pollen possible
The little 1x1 of plant propagation
For all those interested in gardening: growing your favorite plants from the open field yourself? Our experienced gardening expert Thomas Galik will show you how in this workshop! Common propagation methods such as cutting cuttings or mossing as well as tips on suitable substrate mixtures will be presented. After a brief introduction, you will be invited to get hands-on and try out various techniques for yourself. So nothing stands in the way of a garden update at home.
with Thomas Galik / Gardener, Bot. Garden
- Date: Sat. 16.03.2024 ǀ 10:00-12:00 h
- Cost: € 30 per person (including materials)
- Number of participants: 5-10
- Meeting point: Greenhouses Botanical Garden, Foyer, Schubertstraße 59, 8010 Graz
What to bring: Sturdy shoes, rain protection or sun protection depending on the weather
Allergy information: Contact with insects and allergens such as pollen possible
DENGELN
Mowing with a properly sharpened scythe is easy and fun. But what do I do if my scythe, instead of whizzing through the dewy grass with ease, defiantly bites into individual tufts of grass? The scythe needs to be sharpened. But how?
On this half-day course, we will introduce you to the most important skills of scything and discuss the most common methods and tools. We will also show you how to carry out minor repairs to the scythe yourself. The focus is on practical implementation, i.e. each participant will have ample opportunity to try their hand at the dengel anvil and practise what they have learned under supervision. Further information on the workshop can be found at www.mysense.at.
with DI Christian Derler/mysense
- Date: Sat, 20.04.2024
- Time: 09:00 - 13:00
- Cost: € 73 per person (equipment will be provided)
- What to bring: Necessary training material and tools will be provided. You are welcome to bring your own scythes.
- Prerequisites: Completion of the course "Scythe mowing for domestic use", comparable training or sufficient mowing experience
- Allergy information: outdoor holding, contact with insects or other allergens such as pollen possible
- Number of participants. max. 8 persons
- Meeting point: Entrance to the historic glass house in the Botanical Garden, Schubertstraße 53, 8010 Graz
SENSENMÄHEN in SPRING
Would you like to maintain a flower meadow in your garden in a gentle and ecological way? Would you like to do this with a tool that produces neither noise nor exhaust fumes, but instead allows you to enjoy healthy exercise while working in and with nature?
In our half-day, compact course, you will learn how to set the scythe correctly for gentle mowing, as well as an enjoyable, relaxed mowing technique with which you can also master special mowing situations such as slopes, embankments or mowing out trees. You do not need your own equipment. We will provide you with the best scything equipment. Further information on the workshop at www.mysense.at
with DI Christian Derler / MYSENSE
- Date: Sat, 18.05.2024, 7:00 - 12:00 o'clock
- Cost: € 73 per person (equipment will be provided)
- What to bring: Sturdy shoes, belt on skirt or trousers, headgear, sun protection, rain protection, possibly a snack and drink
- Allergy information: outdoor activity, contact with insects or other allergens such as pollen possible
- Number of participants. max. 8 people
- Meeting point: Entrance area Postgrund, opposite the institute building Holteigasse 6, Botanical Garden, 8010 Graz