The Green School
Step out of the classroom and immerse yourself in the fascinating world of plants.
The Green School is more than just a place of learning for children, young people and interested adults. We give plants a voice and offer the perfect setting to actively explore and rediscover plant-related topics. Through exciting experiences, we spark curiosity and promote understanding of the diversity of the botanical world and its essential importance for life on our planet.
- 2-3 hour workshops in the Botanical Garden for all school levels in German and English
- Workshops at schools
- Teacher training (e.g. as part of an education day or on a specific topic) ▪ Guided tours for adults
The Green School of the Botanical Garden of the University of Innsbruck was founded in 2000 and is supported by the Region of the Tyrol and the City of Innsbruck.
Workshops and guided tours
Students: up to 15 people €60.00; for more than 15 people €4.00 per participant
The whole year
Discover the Botanical Garden in every season
In the tropical rainforest when it is snowing outside, enjoying warm sunshine in the colorful prairie garden, or escaping autumn fog between agaves and cacti, the Botanical Garden invites you to discover, marvel, and learn all year round.
On a stroll through different areas, visitors learn about the history of our garden and can experience our plants up close. Depending on the season and current events, we round off the visit with a special highlight.
Target groups: all school levels, also suitable for kindergarten
2 hours (including breaks)
all year round
+43 676 8725 51177 +43 512 507 51177
Photosynthesis – The foundation of life
Photosynthesis is one of the most important processes on our planet. Nevertheless, it is difficult for us to comprehend how sugar and oxygen are formed from water, light and carbon dioxide in green parts of plants.
In this programme, we take a closer look at leaves, discover the locations of photosynthesis. We use exciting experiments to explore what happens during photosynthesis and what role plants play in life on our planet.
Target groups: all school levels
2 hours (including breaks)
all year round
+43 676 8725 51177 +43 512 507 51177
Journey through the habitats of the Botanical Garden
Plants have conquered almost every habitat on our planet. Our greenhouses are home to a wide variety of plants from diverse habitats around the world. Some climb on other plants or sit high up in the treetops of the rainforest, while others store water to survive long periods of drought in the deserts.
In this programme, we explore the diverse and ingenious adaptations of plants to the most varied environmental conditions on Earth. In June and September, there is also the option of visiting the "mountain" habitat in the Alpine Garden on the Patscherkofel (with an alternative bad weather programme in the Botanical Garden).
Target groups: all school levels
2 hours (including breaks)
all year round
+43 676 8725 51177 +43 512 507 51177
Seasonal semester programmes
Spring fever
For primary school classes:
The first signs of spring, such as crocuses, wood anemones, lungwort and snowdrops, are awakening and providing bees, butterflies and beetles with sweet nectar and pollen to feed on.
On a journey of discovery through the botanical garden, participants learn about a selection of early bloomers and find out how and why many of these plants retreat back into the soil after flowering.
For secondary school classes:
Vanilla sex – when it comes to reproduction in the plant kingdom, anything goes: enticement, seduction, deception, kidnapping... Which tricks work on pollinators and who ends up alone after all? And what does ‘flower sex’ have to do with genetic diversity?
In this programme, we take a peek through the keyhole into the intimate lives of plants.
Target groups: all school levels
2 hours (including breaks)
March-April (Early bloomers) / March-May (Vanilla sex)
+43 676 8725 51177
+43 512 507 51177
All fired up for the rainforest
Tropical rainforests are not only hotspots of biodiversity, but are also of particular importance for our climate. Slash-and-burn farming and deforestation threaten this particularly species-rich habitat, making protective measures absolutely essential.
This programme teaches the basics of climate zones, forest types and their inhabitants. What functions does the forest fulfil and what role do humans play in this (useful plants, resources, protective measures, etc.)? On a walk through our tropical glasshouses, we experience what a tropical rainforest feels like and learn about selected plants that grow there.
Target groups: all school levels
2 hours (including breaks)
February–June
+43 676 8725 51177
+43 512 507 51177
Medicinal plants 101
Medicinal plants have been used by humans since ancient times for their pain-relieving and healing properties. However, it is the active ingredient and dosage that determine whether a plant is used for medicinal purposes, as a spice, or as a poison. For example, bitter compounds stimulate digestion, certain essential oils relieve stomach ache and mucilage soothes an irritated throat.
In the medicinal and crop garden, we learn about selected plants, create a small herbarium and find out if and how we can distinguish edible plants from poisonous ones.
Target groups: all school levels
2 hours (including breaks)
April-June
+43 676 8725 51177
+43 512 507 51177
Tree detectives
Trees are fascinating organisms. Some of them are among the largest, oldest, most useful, most popular, rarest and most bizarre creatures on our planet. On a journey of discovery through the botanical garden, we will encounter and marvel at these survivalists and their stories from a wide variety of habitats around the world.
In this programme, students learn about the lifestyle, structure and uses of trees and discover the exciting myths surrounding these living beings.
Target groups: all school levels
2 hours (including breaks)
September-November
+43 676 8725 51177
+43 512 507 51177
Fruits and Seeds
Every fruit and seed holds the promise of a new plant – a tiny package of life that has developed amazing strategies to survive and spread.
In this programme, we learn how plants send their offspring on their journey. We explore what a fruit is and what types of fruit there are. Which parts of the flower produce fruit and how do they spread? On a tour of the garden and greenhouses, we learn about native and tropical seeds and fruits. We learn how to extract seeds from fruits,sow them and take them home.
Target groups: all school levels
2 hours (including breaks)
September–February
+43 676 8725 51177
+43 512 507 51177
Useful plants and spices from around the world
Cotton, pepper, sugar cane or cocoa: this programme explores which parts of a plant are used and referred to as herbs or spices, where essential oils are stored in the plant, and which exotic crops we encounter in our daily lives.
Selected plants are presented in the glasshouses and discovered with different senses. To round off the experience, there are small samples to taste. On request, we can bake bread or biscuits together and season them.
Target groups: all school levels
2 hours (including breaks)
November-February
+43 676 8725 51177
+43 512 507 51177
Group rate on weekdays (1.5 hours): €100; maximum group size 12 people
Group rate for Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays (1.5 hours) on request; maximum group size 12 people
Themed tours: General garden tours, useful plants, medicinal plants, tropical display houses
Gardening experience for adults
A visit to the Botanical Gardens is like travelling around the world in just a few hours, without any jet lag. While nature sets its own pace outside, a completely different world awaits you in our glasshouses.
From the humid warmth of the tropical rainforest, just a few steps further to desert plants that survive for months without water. Whether in the glasshouses, the arboretum, the medicinal plant section or the alpine garden – we will accompany you on this very special journey of discovery and show you seasonal details.
Target groups: Interested garden visitors
1,5 hours
The whole year
+43 676 8725 51177 +43 512 507 51177
Contact and information
Grüne Schule | Botanical Garden
University of Innsbruck
Sternwartestraße 15
6020 Innsbruck / Austria
Workshops and guided tours: Ramona Roach, MSc
Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Public relations: Mag. Lechner Pagitz Cäcilia
Caecilia.Lechner-Pagitz@uibk.ac.at
Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.