Virtual Programs
Let us bring Hershey Gardens into your classroom! Our education staff can connect with your students using a live-action application such as Google Meet, or your preferred platform.
The ideal class size is 30 students or less. Virtual field trips are designed to be a part of one class period, about 30 to 40 minutes.
For preschoolers and elementary school students, we offer virtual experiences of a guided customized tour, as well as live virtual adaptations of our most popular in-person school programs: Amazing Butterflies and Green Thumbs.
Amazing Butterflies (offered year round):
Live inside the Butterfly Atrium, students receive a tour of our indoor butterfly habitat, including a visit to the BugZone, where they can learn about some fascinating arthropods, including their anatomy and metamorphosis.
Green Thumbs (offered September through April):
Join us outside for a virtual tour of our “Many Hands Children’s Garden” and observe our horticulturalists at work, with an opportunity for questions and answers. Optional: we can send a classroom pack of supplies to plant a seed in a germination viewing bag and observe the germination process at work. Please indicate this option when scheduling.
Guided Customized Tour (offered year round):
We offer guided customized virtual tours for any classroom. Recent virtual customized tours have included live interviews with our Butterfly Atrium staff as they pin our butterfly chrysalids. Students can also learn about growing and harvesting cacao, which is used to make chocolate.
Cost
Virtual programs are $85 for the first class and $70 for each additional class. If you are a part of a financially challenged school district within our commonwealth, please review our requirements for our Share the Gardens Scholarship Fund as your virtual program fees could be reduced or waived.
Contact
For more information, or to schedule a visit or distance learning session, please email or call our Education and Public Programs department, 717-508-5968 or email Rebecca Lawrence, Manager of Education and Public Programs at [email protected].