City of Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE BIOLOGICAL PARK

NEWS RELEASE

FROM: ALBUQUERQUE BIOPARK EDUCATION
DATE: TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2006
CONTACT: AMY HENDERSON, EDUCATION COORDINATOR
RIO GRANDE BOTANIC GARDEN (505) 848-7162
RELEASE:  IMMEDIATELY, PLEASE
SUMMARY:  Rio Grande Botanic Garden and Rotary Team  Up for the ANNUAL
Children’s Seed Festival  

Saturday, April 29, 2006, 10:00am - 3:00pm

Celebrate the amazing connections between seeds, plants and humans with some “seed-happy” people during the Children’s Seed Festival at the Rio Grande Botanic Garden on Saturday, April 29, from 10:00am-3:00pm. The event is co-sponsored by the Albuquerque Biological Park, the Rotary Club of Albuquerque and Keep New Mexico Beautiful. The festival is included with regular admission.

Volunteers from the Rotary Club of Albuquerque and the Rio Grande Botanic Garden will work side-by-side helping plant seeds and spark curiosity. Join us to discover how plants are born and take a trip through the Children’s Fantasy Garden to explore a seed’s life story. Through hands-on discovery stations, visitors can learn about the ways seeds travel, the amazing variety of seed shapes and sizes, and the incredible adaptations that allow seeds to grow in some of the harshest environments in the world. Get your hands dirty in the Seed Lab inside the Fantasy Garden’s giant pumpkin. Create works of botanical art with seeds and listen to storytellers spin tales of seeds and other garden wonders.

Children will receive a free seed kit with a Mystery Seed to take home and grow. Budding botanists can return their Mystery Seed report to the Botanic Garden to be eligible to win a garden prize. Visitors will also receive a packet of xeric wildflower seeds, made possible by a grant from Keep New Mexico Beautiful, along with tips on incorporating these beautiful flowers into their own yards.

For additional information call BioPark Education at (505) 848-7180. The BioPark is an accessible facility and a division of the City of Albuquerque’s Cultural Services Department. Admission to the Botanic Garden is required: $7.00 for ages 13-64; $3.00 for ages 65+ and older; $3.00 for ages 3-12; two and under -- free. For assistance in visiting, please call (505) 768-2000 or 311, preferably with three days advance notice. Visit our website at http://www.cabq.gov/biopark for more information about our facilities and programs.

The Albuquerque Biological Park is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you and a better future for all living things. With more than 200 accredited members, AZA is a leader in global wildlife conservation and your link to helping animals in their native habitats. For more information visit http://www.aza.org