Training Programs

Training Programs at the University Botanical Gardens Sofia
Our training programs are aimed at both younger students (grades 1-4) and students from the middle school level (grades 5-7), as well as anyone interested in plant biodiversity and its conservation. We offer separate educational programs for primary school students and for middle and high school students.
The lectures and practical activities for middle school students are aligned with the curriculum for “Man and Nature” for grade 6 and “Biology and Health Education” for grade 7, but they also include additional knowledge about our interesting and rare plant species, as well as exotic plants and their characteristics and distribution. Participants will be able to recognize plants from different taxonomic groups based on their morphological features, learn about the vast diversity of flower structures in angiosperms, and gain knowledge about the diversity of medicinal plants in Bulgaria.
Through prior registration, the content of the lecture and the number of participants in the training can be specified.
Select an age group to view the training programs we have developed.

Program for younger students (grades 1-5) - 2 hours

• What is a Botanical Garden, and what can we see in a Botanical Garden
• What are the vegetative organs of plants, and what are they used for—root, stem, leaves
• Plant reproduction through vegetative parts: from stems, from leaves—practical activity
• How flowers are structured—drawing the floral parts—sepals, petals, stamens, pistils
• How plants are pollinated, and how fruits and seeds are formed. Seed reproduction

Program for students grades 6-12 - 2 hours

1. Spore Plants

• Introduction to fern-like plants in the botanical garden. Asexual reproduction through spores—observing sporangia and spores of ferns under a magnifying glass. Life cycle of ferns

2. Seed Plants

• Gymnosperms—characteristic features. Types of gymnosperms (Cycads and Conifers) in the botanical garden.
• Reproductive organs of gymnosperms. Introduction to the structure of male and female cones and seeds in various types of gymnosperms. Life cycle of coniferous gymnosperms.
• Angiosperms—characteristic features. Diversity in the structure of flowers in angiosperms—observing floral parts under a magnifying glass. Types of fruits and seeds. Life cycle of angiosperms.
• Taxonomic diversity of angiosperms in the University Botanical Garden Sofia. Introduction to the characteristic features of representatives from selected families.