Patricia Gonzalez is an NYBG Visitor Services Attendant and avid wildlife photographer.
One of the great things about being on Garden staff is the opportunity, twice each year, to access the grounds when they are closed to the public—namely during our exhibition staff orientations. The first one happens before the summer exhibition (like Frida), and the second takes place ahead of the Holiday Train Show. I usually arrive about an hour and a half early so I can do some shooting.
We recently had our orientation for Impressionism: American Gardens on Canvas. While walking along Magnolia Way, I spotted this mama Wood Duck. I noticed a few fuzzy heads peeking out as well. Soon, a few heads turned into 12 as they went for a swim! Never a dull day at NYBG.
Waves of students pool together inside the queues of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory as they eagerly wait to explore its many biomes and exhibitions. A cluster at the front of the line indicates the children are balancing precariously on tip-toes to glance at the imposing structure placed near the entrance of the building. While some eyes light with recognition of the word “Macy’s” labeled on the brown, box-like creation, others are entranced by the toy train which circles it in an infinite loop. This grand replica of Manhattan’s famous department store, festively decorated with sprouting horns of white branches and red yuletide ornaments, stands as the captivating introduction to The New York Botanical Garden’s annual Holiday Train Show.
As GreenSchool’s intern for the 2015–2016 academic year, I am able to interact with these students and discuss what they observed as they participate in the GreenSchool’s plant science workshop, “Building with Botany.” Just like the Holiday Train Show which was restructured and expanded this year, so was its complementary workshop. “Building with Botany” is now a fully involved STEAM program; like its acronym, it seamlessly integrates science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics.
This season’s Holiday Train Show® is on view through January 18, but Evergreen Express continues to provide seasonal family fun in the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden through January 24. Kids pass through station stops during their visit, each featuring a unique and educational activity designed to explore the world of evergreens.
In the cozy Discovery Center Depot, children make their own herbarium pressings of a conifer specimen and craft a miniature scented sachet to take home. The Adventure Garden is full of trails that guide children through the trees and shrubs of winter.
There is an outdoor puppet theater available for children, and on weekends and school holidays, kids can create a train puppet inspired by master puppeteer Ralph Lee and join a musical marching parade.
Evergreen Express takes place Tuesdays through Sundays in the Adventure Garden, from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays and Sundays, and from 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
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All Aboard with Thomas & Friends™ mini-performances continue through January 24 as well, so plan a family excursion to NYBG in the next couple of weeks for winter fun!
Our next Bar Car Night—the first of 2016!—is nearly here, and if past evenings are any evidence, tickets won’t last much longer. Come kick off the New Year at NYBG with live music, drinks and winter treats, ice carving demonstrations, fire and light performances, and the timeless beauty of the Holiday Train Show after dark. It all happens this Saturday, January 2. Don’t miss it!
Happy holidays, everyone—it may not feel much like winter out there today, but the trees are still dressed for the season. From our Instagram feed Wednesday morning, the sketched silhouettes of trees in a drift of fog. Don’t forget to follow us there, where you’ll see highlights small and large from throughout the Garden and our exhibitions!
Heads up that we’re closed today, but we’ll reopen tomorrow for a three-day weekend (that includes Monday) of Holiday Train Show fun. Enjoy your day off!
Redesigned last year, look for the glowing new rendition of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory in….well, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. It’s a bit meta, but there’s no doubt that it’s one of the most beautiful and beloved landmarks in the Holiday Train Show!
The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory in the Holiday Train Show — Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
The Holiday Train Show in 2015 is the biggest and best its ever been, and because the holiday season doesn’t end with December, we’re keeping it going well into January—the 18th, in fact! But that’s not the only thing going on as the new year breaks on NYBG. You’ll want to stick around for the arrival of a familiar tank engine to our Ross Hall.
All Aboard with Thomas & Friends™ returns January 2–24 for what is easily one of our most beloved annual traditions. Kids and their families are invited to join us in Ross Hall for sing-along mini-performances with Thomas and his friend Driver Sam, helping them decorate the station in time for the big Sodor surprise party before the guest of honor arrives. It’s a fun and inclusive event that welcomes participation, and it’s sure to make your little one’s day. After the show, make sure to have a professional photo taken with Thomas to capture the moment!
Tickets to these special performances are timed, and we recommend registering online in advance to ensure you get your preferred spot. But there are plenty of opportunities to meet Thomas and celebrate the season!
As we celebrate the peak of the holiday season at the Garden, we thought it appropriate to ring in the winter solstice (it’s actually Tuesday, December 22, but who’s counting?) with a weekend performance suited to the nostalgic sights and sounds of the season. And what better group to fit the bill than an ensemble of cellos, violins, and flutes?
This Sunday, December 20, sit for a performance of selections by Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel during the last of Le Train Bleu’s 2015 Winter Harmonies concerts. With Ransom Wilson at the helm, you can be sure of a rousing take on these classic compositions. And it’s not just for adults, either—the ensemble set aside time for a kid-friendly performance at 2 p.m. that features introductions to each of the instruments being played. At 4 p.m., they’ll return with a concert geared toward adults. Learn more here, and don’t forget to grab these special tickets.
The Holiday Train Show continues throughout the month and into January, and because it’s late December, we’ll be open this coming Monday to accommodate everyone who’s out and about during this beautiful time of year. As a reminder to everyone out there who’s planning on joining us for Bar Car Nights, our events for this weekend—December 18 and 19 respectively—are both sold out as of today, so don’t sleep too long on tickets to upcoming nights!
It’s going to be a musical spectacle of a weekend, of that much I’m more than sure. See everything that’s happening below.
The grounds may be growing cooler as we near the start of winter, but that can only mean the art and music of the Garden are all the more present. Throughout the Holiday Train Show, NYBG plays host not only to a much-loved poetry walk and reading, but a series of classical concerts that define the sounds of the season.
The verse of Billy Collins, former U.S. Poet Laureate and a fixture in the lyric history of New York, returns to the Garden this year during our Holiday Train Show, filling the Perennial Garden and its surroundings with the poetry of our city, our landscapes, and the singular experience of living in the five boroughs. You can find his poetry boards on display throughout December and January. But if you’re looking for a more intimate experience, be sure to get seats for Collins’ live reading—here at NYBG’s Ross Hall—on Saturday, December 12.
Happy Thanksgiving from NYBG! We will be closed on Thursday, November 26, in observance of the holiday—but we will be open this Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and for regular hours on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.—so consider walking off all that stuffing with a fall family outing to the Garden!
Admire the crisp autumn landscape, check out the Holiday Train Show®—newly opened in our Haupt Conservatory and bigger than ever before—and don’t miss out on this year’s kiku display in the Bourke-Sullivan Display House of the Nolen Greenhouses. These chrysanthemums will only be up until next Monday, November 29, so time is running out!
View the full schedule of weekend programs and tours below, and we’ll see you in the Garden.
