Chicago Botanic Garden
Upcoming Classes in Chicago

(4.3-star rating across 122 reviews)

The Chicago Botanic Garden is a world-renowned living museum and conservation science center that offers multiple unique nature courses spread throughout 26 gardens and four natural areas on 385 acres.

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Chicago Botanic Garden

110 classes have spots left

Deciduous Trees and Saturday Walks

Chicago Botanic Garden @ 1000 Lake Cook Road, Chicago, IL

Learn to identify more than 50 large deciduous trees, gain a greater understanding of the multitude of functions they serve in gardens and the landscape, and discover the wonders they offer year-round. Develop your ability to identify trees using their buds, bark, and habit, in addition to leaf shape and other characteristics.  OPC, PGL 1, PGL 2, and GDC requirement

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$337

13 sessions

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Gardening Techniques

Chicago Botanic Garden @ 1000 Lake Cook Road Glencoe, Chicago, IL

Students will be introduced to professional gardening through a combination of lecture and hands-on activities. Focus is on acquiring solid gardening skills, learning about a variety of techniques, and developing the ability to determine best practices.  Topics range from plant selection to the identification and control of weeds and other horticultural practices.  Prerequisite:  Botany 1 Note: PGL 1, PGL 2, GDC requirement

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$312

6 sessions

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Weaving Studio for Beginners

Chicago Botanic Garden @ 1000 Lake Cook Road, Chicago, IL

This class is designed for beginning students to learn the basic techniques needed to weave a tapestry. We will explore ways of using surface, image, and text within a woven form to create independent projects.  Students will be exposed to both contemporary and historical tapestries through weekly visual presentations and will participate in skill-building demonstrations to broaden their technical skills. Frame looms and warp and weft...

(122) Beginner 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$329

8 sessions

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Drawing Nature Seedpods

Chicago Botanic Garden @ 1000 Lake Cook Road, Chicago, IL

Capture nature’s pods using graphite and colored pencil. These media can be used alone or together to explore the subtle colors found in a variety of pods. Color theory and composition will be considered to create striking finished drawings.  Some experience in colored pencil preferred.  A supply list will be sent. 

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$312

4 sessions

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Painting the Prairie En Plein Air

Chicago Botanic Garden

Celebrate the unique landscape that once covered great expanses of the state. It is not hard to imagine as you experience the extensive rolling hills, tall grasses, and beautiful native flowers of the prairie landscape at the Garden. Learn how to observe and simplify the shapes in nature to convey the essence of the landscape into your painting. You can complete a finished artwork during each class session.  All media welcome. Dress for the...

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Fall Leaves in Glass Mosaics

Chicago Botanic Garden

In this hands-on workshop, you will use gorgeous transparent glass to create a mosaic inspired by brilliantly colored autumn leaves. You will learn the process of affixing broken and cut art glass to an acrylic panel, considering the best usage of color, shape, and shading.  Once grouted, your art piece will glow like a stained glass window with luminous colors.

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Fall Colors in Colored Pencil

Chicago Botanic Garden

Get inspired by the spectrum of warm fall colors through detailed studies of composite flowers in the studio and quicker plein-air landscape studies in the Garden.  You will learn, in part, how to successfully approach the detail and complexity of composite flowers using foreshortening techniques. Expand your knowledge of color theory and composition.  A supply list will be sent.  Dress for the weather. 

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Photographing Intimate Landscapes

Chicago Botanic Garden

Taking an intimate point of view—smaller than distant horizons, larger than macro—lets you bring patterns, contrasts, layers, abstraction, and new meaning into your images. In this intermediate-level class, use traditional and creative approaches to find beauty in smaller-scale scenes from nature and daily life.  A digital SLR or mirrorless camera with manual controls for aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, and familiarity with basic camera...

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Color in the Autumn Landscape

Chicago Botanic Garden

Autumn at the Garden is inspiring. Working in the Garden, you will learn how painters think about composition and color in nature.  A review of light and gesture will help you use new techniques to represent the landscape. You will create small paintings in the medium of your choice, including gouache, acrylic, watercolor, and oil. Dress for the weather.  A supply list will be sent.

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Gardening Techniques: Session A

Chicago Botanic Garden @ 1000 Lake Cook Road, Chicago, IL

Online and On-site Hybrid Learn tips and techniques used by professional gardeners through a combination of lecture and hands-on activities. Acquire solid gardening skills and determine best management practices. We will cover fall planting, bulbs, turf care, plant wildlife protection, garden maintenance, and winterization.  Dress for the weather. A supply list will be sent with your confirmation.

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$312

6 sessions

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Watercolor: The Bounty of Fall Colors

Chicago Botanic Garden

If you’ve ever wanted to express yourself boldly with colors, fall is the ideal time. Drawing upon the richness of colors both in the Garden and in a classroom pumpkin and gourd still life, we will push the boundaries of color saturation. Value and color are the two main “engines” that drive all painting.  A supply list will be sent.   Prerequisite: Some painting experience.

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Open Studio

Chicago Botanic Garden @ 1000 Lake Cook Road, Chicago, IL

This studio class is open to all levels. You may bring a project of your choice in any medium, or work with plant subjects to create a new art piece. Lectures and demonstrations illustrate principles that pertain to all media. A supply list will be sent. 

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules
$298

5 sessions

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Advanced Pastel (Online)

Chicago Botanic Garden

Explore a variety of subject matter from close-up botanical subjects to landscapes with an emphasis on original style and mark-making. Demonstrations and individual instruction will be given.  This class will be taught online via Zoom. All registrations must be submitted online two days before your class starts. Registered students will receive login instructions one day in advance.  A supply list will be sent. ART requirement, expressive...

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Macro Photography in the Home

Chicago Botanic Garden

Rediscover the details of your home by photographing objects close-up. Each week, we will focus on different aspects of the home environment and explore the ways you can open up the world by using depth of field, lighting, camera angle, and, most of all, your imagination. Find out what your home environment looks like through a macro lens. This class will be taught online via Zoom. All registrations must be submitted online two days before your...

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Landscape Painting: Realism to Expressive

Chicago Botanic Garden

Working with exploratory studies in watercolor, you will break down a landscape into its most basic shapes. Large relationships of color, value, and composition will be emphasized rather than details. You will paint the essence and the abstract quality of the scene.  This approach can be applied to all paintings. Your personal observations, interpretations, and emotional expressions are highly encouraged in your art work. You will progress...

(122) All levels 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Japanese Aesthetics in Photography

Chicago Botanic Garden

Wabi sabi is the Japanese philosophy centered on the acceptance that beauty can be transient and imperfect. Maximize your potential in photography by experiencing this Japanese aesthetic. You will explore the great photographers of Japan and create a book, video, or portfolio from images taken in class. We will photograph, write, and discover significant sources of inspiration.  All registrations must be submitted online two days before your...

(122) Intermediate 18 and older
No upcoming schedules

Introduction to Calligraphy Mini

Chicago Botanic Garden

Embark on a journey into the timeless art of calligraphy with an introductory mini-course. Discover the fundamentals of creating elegant strokes and mastering chancery cursive, a versatile italic hand. Whether you're a novice or refining your skills, immerse yourself in the beauty of lettering as you learn layout techniques for envelopes and decorative quotes.

(122) All levels 18 and older