It's always summer at the Gardens!
Description
At Birmingham Botanical Gardens, we offer an educational visit like no other. You can explore our unique glasshouses and experience an authentic rainforest adventure! Then walk straight from experiencing hot and humid tropical conditions into a desert climate and observe the changes to plants due to the seasons. Then, wander down to the Alpine and Rock Gardens to marvel at the beautiful flora found on the Tundra.
How do bananas and pineapples grow? Why is white chocolate white, but milk chocolate brown? Why do cactus plants look so strange? How do your shoes link to the rainforest? What is a Tenrec? Find out the answer to these questions and many more, as your pupils explore our glasshouses and flourishing gardens.
Allow us to share the knowledge and experience we have gained over nearly 200 years in one of our expertly-taught, cross-curricular teaching sessions that will be tailor-made to your age group and topic. Or opt for a self-guided visit where teachers can lead their own activities using our wide range of comprehensive educational resources.
Reviews
Overview
4.7
115 reviews
Excellent
71%
Very Good
26%
Average
3%
Poor
0%
Awful
0%
(November 2024 - Primary School)
Well organised and structured, great space to use inside as well (November 2024 - Secondary School)
(October 2024 - Primary School)
(October 2024 - Primary School)
(July 2024 - Primary School)
(July 2024 - Secondary School)
(July 2024 - Primary School)
(July 2024 - Primary School)
(July 2024 - Primary School)
(July 2024)
(June 2024 - Primary School)
(June 2024 - Primary School)
(June 2024 - Primary School)
(June 2024 - Primary School)
(June 2024 - Primary School)
(June 2024 - Primary School)
(June 2024 - Secondary School)
(May 2024 - Primary School)
Great support for our Special Needs students. The tutor was very understanding and patient and had tailored the presentation perfectly. Venue was small enough and well designed enough that my students didn't lose focus and got a lot out of the visit. (May 2024 - Secondary School)
Site led session was perfect! Knowledgable staff and the session allowed for safe exploration of the glasshouses with a clear purpose which kept Y5 very busy1 (April 2024)
(April 2024 - Primary School)
(March 2024 - Primary School)
(February 2024 - Primary School)
(February 2024 - Primary School)
(January 2024 - Primary School)
(January 2024 - Primary School)
(November 2023 - Primary School)
(November 2023 - Secondary School)
(November 2023 - Primary School)
The workshops were practical and enjoyed by our year 4 classes. (November 2023 - Primary School)
(October 2023 - Secondary School)
(September 2023 - Primary School)
(July 2023 - Primary School)
(July 2023 - Primary School)
Great experience for children. No issues. (July 2023 - Primary School)
Great experience for the children. No issues. (July 2023 - Primary School)
We brought our photography students here as part of their learning in locational trips but also to view the Sony World Photographer awards. The students very much enjoyed their visit and it was really worth the money for them. (July 2023 - Secondary School)
(June 2023 - Primary School)
(June 2023 - Primary School)
A great venue, and we came across a fantastic volunteer working there, who told the children lots of information and engaged them in the herb garden. This wasn't organised, so it was lucky we had it, so it would be good if this was part of the experience. (June 2023 - Primary School)
(June 2023 - Primary School)
(June 2023 - Primary School)
(May 2023 - Primary School)
(May 2023 - Primary School)
Site has excellent amenities and allocated teaching spaces. Site supports the importance of safeguarding with gated entry.
Well laid out and fully wheelchair accessible. (May 2023 - Primary School)
(May 2023 - Primary School)
Two of the areas on one of the days were closed off. (April 2023 - Primary School)
(April 2023 - Primary School)
I do not feel that this is a full day visit. The glass houses are beautiful and the talk given by stay was very informative and pitched at the right level, however, there is not much else to do if the weather is bad. A half day visit would be better (April 2023 - Primary School)
(March 2023 - Primary School)
(March 2023 - Secondary School)
(March 2023 - Secondary School)
Pupils really enjoyed seeing the plants in real life. (March 2023 - Primary School)
(February 2023 - Primary School)
(February 2023 - Primary School)
(January 2023 - Secondary School)
(December 2022 - Primary School)
(December 2022 - Primary School)
(October 2022 - Secondary School)
(October 2022 - Secondary School)
(October 2022 - Secondary School)
(September 2022 - Primary School)
Trip cancelled due to extreme weather (September 2022 - Primary School)
(July 2022 - Primary School)
(July 2022)
(July 2022 - Primary School)
(June 2022 - Primary School)
(June 2022 - Primary School)
(June 2022 - Secondary School)
(June 2022 - Secondary School)
(April 2022 - Primary School)
Children had a great trip and enjoyed their visit.
There were a variety of plants, trees and flowers for children to explore. Plenty of outdoor space for children to play and facilities were good, clean and easily accessible. (March 2022 - Primary School)
Arrived late due to traffic so first session was cancelled as not enough time.
Great place if sun is shining not so sure if it is bad weather - indoor spaces are cramped (March 2022 - Primary School)
Classrooms were not provided for 2 classes so children had to sit on floor to have snacks and lunch. We were provided with free animal handling workshop as playground was unsafe for use. Large machinery was on site and we had not been informed. (March 2022 - Primary School)
excellent (March 2022 - Secondary School)
Very large and diverse area that was rich in subject matter for art and photography students. Glasshouses were ideal for winter and contained a lot of exotic plants to study, as well as vast parklands with more plants, interesting architecture and exotic birds. Coach parking was available but difficult. (February 2022 - Secondary School)
It was a thoroughly enjoyable trip. The staff were patient and knowledgeable and all the children had a great day. (January 2022 - Primary School)
(November 2021 - Primary School)
Lovely trip. Children had a great time and learnt alot. (November 2021 - Primary School)
Fantastic trip children really enjoy it (November 2021 - Primary School)
Fantastic trip children really enjoy it (November 2021 - Primary School)
(October 2021 - Primary School)
(September 2021 - Primary School)
The gardens were a great location for students to explore and develop their shooting skills, with many interesting plant forms to Photograph. (September 2021 - Secondary School)
An excellent visit to support our science and geography work. Workshop was great and enthusiastically delivered. Children really enjoyed the day. Super communication from James, the education manager. (June 2021 - Primary School)
(March 2020 - Secondary School)
A fantastic trip in which children both revised, extended and furthered their learning (March 2020 - Primary School)
(January 2020 - Secondary School)
Children had a great time. Staff were very friendly (November 2019 - Primary School)
excellent support provided by the botanical gardens staff (November 2019 - Secondary School)
(November 2019 - Secondary School)
(September 2019 - Primary School)
It was the Cambridge ones, but they were excellent (September 2019 - Secondary School)
The content of the trip was good and very focused on the exam specification. The small group work worked really well for the pupils who went on the trip and they responded well to this.
The pace of the session could have been better, especially at the start. (June 2019 - Secondary School)
(June 2019 - Primary School)
(June 2019 - Primary School)
(June 2019 - Primary School)
(May 2019 - Primary School)
(May 2019 - Primary School)
(March 2019 - Primary School)
they had a great time but the weather was cold and wet (March 2019 - Primary School & Secondary School)
Really nice trip (February 2019 - Primary School)
(February 2019 - Secondary School)
(January 2019 - Primary School)
(January 2019 - Primary School)
(November 2018 - Secondary School)
The staff at the venue were absolutly wonderful. Due to travelling on the bus it meant that we were going to miss out Rainforest Animal session, however, I telephoned them on the way and they made arrangements for us to have a slightly shorter session. The room that we were in for our talk and lunch was comfortable and clean. The talk was very interesting and the children really enjoyed both the talk and seeing?handling the animals. The plants and gardens are amazing.
It was a pity that we travelled by bus which took us over 2 hours to get there across unsafe roads. No seat belts were available on the buses which I think was a safety risk on such a long journey. (September 2018 - Primary School)
We had a really nice day, studying aspects of the rainforest. A nice set of resources, but the animals were a firm favourite. (September 2018 - Primary School)
Great teacher led sessions. Communication with staff, both prior and during visit, was excellent. Allocated storage area for belongings. Be aware that the children are required to use hand wash between touching animals during the rainforest fun teaching session - Suitable alternative needs to be taken for those who have allergy issues. Also - There is a function room adjoining one of the glass houses (arid)- use should be checked before entering so that children can be advised of an appropriate volume so as not to cause an interference. L.C (June 2018 - Primary School)
(June 2018 - Primary School)
An excellent visit (again). Well led workshop which engaged pupils and covered appropriate curriculum objectives. Excellent surroundings and good facilities. On line risk assessments and maps available plus worksheets and activities to complete for self led tours and learning. Staff were friendly and helpful and checked throughout our visit that we were okay and the visit was meeting our expectations/needs. We booked a space for lunch incase the weather was bad and were provided with a classroom space to keep our belongings in and use as a 'base' for the day. Thank you. Pupils loved being immersed in plants and trees as well as looking at the birds and fish. The playground was also enjoyed by them too. (May 2018 - Primary School)
(May 2018 - Primary School)
It was an enjoyable trip which was helped by the guidance of the staff. Both sessions and the self-lead tour were great and the children learnt a lot. (March 2018 - Primary School)
(March 2018 - Primary School)
(February 2018 - Primary School)
