Behind the Science: Explore the Natural History Collections

On select Fridays, 1-1:30 pm, Denver Botanic Gardens docents will be leading a drop-in tour, “Behind the Science: Explore the Natural History Collections.” The next tours are May 5 and May 19. Tours are included with Gardens admission and no reservations are needed. All ages welcome but tours are most appropriate for ages 8+. Group size is limited to 15.

In the basement of Boettcher Memorial Center, you will discover the thousands of preserved plant and fungal specimens that reside in the Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium of Vascular Plants and the Sam Mitchel Herbarium of Fungi and view a small selection of insects that are housed in the Arthropod Collection.

• Why are Natural History Collections important, and why does Denver Botanic Gardens have them?
• What is a herbarium?
• What is the difference between “herbarium” and “herbaria”?
• Or, maybe you have heard about our recent renovation and are wondering what it entailed!

These are just some of the many questions we hope to address during the tour. There is much to discover within our Natural History Collections, from the artistry of pinned insects to the informative labels which will allow anyone from anywhere in the world to use the collections for decades to come.

On the tour, docents can also show you the process for how we collect our plant specimens and how to view our collections from home.

[Free with admission to the Gardens]

More info: https://www.botanicgardens.org/blog/new-drop-tour-discover-natural-history-collections