Education
The UConn Botanical Conservatory enriches courses at UConn and dozens of educational institutions across the country.
There is no better way for students to learn about the importance of biodiversity than through direct exposure to living organisms. Since the mid-1950s, our facilities have served as a hub of hands-on learning for UConn students and community members.
Visitors take in the colors, textures, and odors of nearly 2,800 species, all in one place — an experience that awakens the senses, sparks curiosity, and creates an impression that will last a lifetime.
UConn Courses
The Conservatory supports several UConn courses in Biological Sciences (BIOL) and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB). We provide these courses with plant materials (e.g., bean seedlings) consumed in lab exercises, demonstrations of specific features in the classroom, individual assignments that students complete in our greenhouse facility, and tours.
UConn courses that regularly depend on the collections include:
- Foundations of Biology (BIOL 1102)
- Principles of Biology II (BIOL 1108)
- Introduction to Botany (BIOL 1110)
- General Ecology (EEB 2244E)
- Introduction to Conservation Biology (EEB 2208E)
- Developmental Plant Morphology (EEB 3203, 5203)
- Evolution of Green Plants (EEB 3220,5220)
- Bryophyte and Lichen Biology (EEB 3240)
- Systematic Botany (EEB 3271, 5271)
- General Entomology (EEB 4250)
- Plant Structural Diversity (EEB 4276)
- General Ecology (EEB 2244E)
Visit the UConn Undergraduate Catalog and the Graduate Catalog for course descriptions.
In addition, the Conservatory provides tours and assignments based in our greenhouse facilities to classes across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Previous examples include courses in plant science, anthropology, art (painting, drawing, and photography), and digital media and design.
UConn educators who would like to learn more about how to use the Conservatory in their classes should contact the general manager.
Graduate students Maurice Amee, Noorpreet Kaur, and Lindsey Kollmer ’22 (CLAS) at the UConn Botanical Conservatory greenhouses in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology on February 6, 2023. (Bri Diaz/UConn Photo)
Graduate students Maurice Amee, Noorpreet Kaur, and Lindsey Kollmer ’22 (CLAS) at the UConn Botanical Conservatory greenhouses in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology on February 6, 2023. (Bri Diaz/UConn Photo)
Two Conservatory tour videos, at an introductory Biology level, are available: