Teachers

Planning your field trip to the Arboretum

The U.S. National Arboretum is a great place to bring your students for a field trip! Our mission is science and education, so we appreciate and support your efforts to teach your students about the fascinating world of plants.

The Friends of the National Arboretum offer Science Program Reaching OUT (SPROUT) field trips in the Washington Youth Garden, or you can design your own field trip to the National Arboretum.

While buses may discharge and load at the circle in front of the Visitor Center, they may not remain parked there and should plan on waiting at the Grove parking lot, where there is ample parking for buses on weekdays.

If you are planning a lunch or snake break as part of your experience, there is ample space to picnic adjacent to the Grove parking lot and near the Washington Youth Garden.

An Educator’s Map of the Arboretum

We encourage you to review this interactive PDF map. It provides practical information about bus parking, restrooms, and picnicking areas. It also details how each Arboretum plant collection can complement your curriculum: Some gardens are great for a horticulture-focused day hike for high school students. Others collections are optimal for younger students. Some collections offer a great opportunity to teach history as well as botany. Download the map to your computer to access its interactive features. Click here for a text-only PDF with the collection descriptions.

To get the most from your visit, be sure to review the map, even if your visit is informal and doesn’t involve a program at the Arboretum. Our Hours and Directions and Garden Collections pages also contain useful information for planning your trip.

Arboretum Safety and Ground Rules

The Arboretum is a living museum, not a park. This one-page document outlines the rules we’ve established to keep both our plant collections and visitors safe. Please review it ahead of your visit!

Page last updated June 2026.