Science Festival at the Botanics!

Wed. 8 to Tues. 14 April

Edinburgh International Science Festival is the world’s first and Europe’s largest celebration of science and technology. In the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth, the theme for events at the Botanics is change and adaptation.

During the Science Festival, all children are invited to visit The Glasshouses for free if accompanied by an adult (full price £3.50, concessions £3).

See all Science Festival events; visit www.sciencefestival.co.uk

Science Festival: family events

Experience life on a plant collecting expedition, dig up a dinosaur, follow in Darwin’s footsteps... these are just some of the hands-on, drop-in activities for families. Plus talks and science demonstrations at 12 noon and 3pm each day and a special puppet show, The Hungry Stone Giant, from Sun. 12 to Tues. 14 April.

See Science Festival listings. Booking hotline tel. 0131 553 0322.

Science Festival: special tours

Enjoy a range of free guided tours as part of the Science Festival, including: Behind the scenes at the Herbarium (1pm on Wed. 8, Thurs. 9 and Tues. 14 April); The evolutionary secrets of birds (11am and 2pm on Fri. 10, Sat. 11 and Sun. 12 April); The evolution of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (1pm on Sat. 11 and 2.30pm on Mon. 13 April).

See Science Festival listings. Booking hotline tel. 0131 553 0322.

Science Festival: Talking Science talks & discount

As part of the Science Festival, there are 45 Talking Science talks on offer throughout the city. The Botanics hosts four of these: Coping with climate change by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Thurs. 9); Darwin's tangled bank by broadcaster Colin Tudge (Sat. 11); Thinking like a vegetable - how plants decide what to do by the Royal Society (Tues. 14) and Looking back to a sustainable future by architect Malcolm Fraser and wind power pioneer Martin Turner (Sat. 18).

Special offer: RBGE and Edinburgh International Science Festival have teamed up to offer e-newsletter recipients a 10% discount on full price and concession tickets for all Talking Science events. This offer is only available by phone: tel. 0131 552 0322 and quote 'Botanics' (offer does not apply to tickets already bought).

See Science Festival listings. Booking hotline tel. 0131 553 0322.

Fun, free activities with the Garden Rangers

Join the Garden Rangers for a variety of free, informal activities. Please note the age guidance for each event. See full list of Garden Ranger events. Here are some highlights for April:

Soundscape. What can you hear in the Garden? Sat. 4 & Sun. 5 April. Sign up at East Gate on the day.

Funky fossils. Hunt for them in our own giant fern forest. 8 – 12 April. Sign up on the day.

Amazing evolution. How did the planet look millions of years ago? 8 – 14 April. Drop in, no booking required.

Spring in the trail. Follow the trail and see what's special about spring. 15 – 18 April. Drop in, no booking required.

Tour the Garden with our Guides

Let our expert Garden Guides lead you on a walk around the Garden to discover seasonal highlights, hidden treasures and tales of the intrepid adventurers behind the plants on display.

Regular tours depart from the East Gate at 11am and 2pm daily until the end of September. Cost £3, no advance booking necessary.

See info for morning and afternoon tours.

Gift Aid it at The Glasshouses

From 1 April, we are trialling Gift Aid admission to The Glasshouses, as seen at many other  visitor attractions. Existing admission prices still apply (£3.50 adult, £3 concession, £1 child), but UK taxpayers can pay a little more (£4 /£3.50/£1.20 respectively) with a Gift Aid declaration, increasing their contribution to the Garden by nearly one third.

We hope most UK-based visitors to The Glasshouses will help the Garden in this way. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is a charity and depends on your support!

Souvenir guide to Queen Mother's Memorial Garden

Our full-colour souvenir guidebook to the Queen Mother's Memorial Garden at Edinburgh has just been published. Its 24 pages are packed with stunning photographs, and there's a foreword by HRH Prince Charles.

Purchase your copy for £6 in the Botanics Shop or buy it online from 7 April.

See more RBGE publications; find out about the Memorial Garden.

Weekend workshops & courses in April & May

Places are still available for the following courses and workshops. Further details of all our courses on our website, or contact the Education team on tel. 0131 248 2937, education@rbge.org.uk

Download course booking form

Weekend workshops

Calligraphy Workshop, Sun. 19 April, 10am – 4pm, £40/36.

The Tree of Life, Sat. 25 April, 10am – 4pm, £45/40.50.

Slippery Herbal Sunday, Sun. 26 April, 10am – 4pm, £45/40.50

Warehouse of the World’s Temperate Trees, Sun. 2 May, 10am – 4pm, £40/36.

Ten-week courses

RBGE Botanical Art Society (Untutored), Saturdays 18 April – 27 June, 10am – 3.30pm, £80/72.

Foliage, Watercolour, and Landscape I, Mondays 20 April – 6 July, 1.30pm – 4.30pm, £100/90

Foliage, Watercolour and Landscape II, Mondays 20 April – 6 July, 9.30am – 12.30pm, £100/90.

RBGE Botanical Art Society (Tutored), Tuesdays 14 April – 23 June, 6.30pm – 8.30pm, £80/72.

NEW: Herbs of the Highlands, Tuesdays 14 April – 23 June, 10am-12.30pm, £120/108.

Recognising Plant Families, Wednesdays 15 April – 24 June, 7pm – 9pm, £80/72

Flower Ecology and Plant Adaptations, Thursdays 16 April – 25 June, 7pm – 9pm, £80/72.

Going Green – Reducing Your Carbon Footprint, Mondays 20 April – 6 July, 7pm – 9pm, £70/63.

One-year courses

RBGE Certificate in Practical Field Botany, Edinburgh: Saturdays, 18 April – 26 September. A qualification in field botany skills over eight days, for everyone from keen amateurs to professionals. Units include: Plant Identification, Preparation for Field Work, Information Recording, Habitat Surveying, Field Collection, Drying and Preserving, Applied Field Work 1-3 in different habitats.

Last chance to see at Inverleith House...

Be sure to catch these exhibitions at Inverleith House before they close on 19 April: Hayley Tompkins – Autobuilding and Mary MacIver – Pilgrim Souls.

Early May sees the opening of two new exhibitions at Inverleith House: Raffles' Ark Redrawn (right) and Cerith Wyn Evans. See the full list of exhibitions at Inverleith House.

Events at Benmore, Dawyck and Logan

All three of our Regional Gardens are open daily until 6pm. Spring is the perfect time to visit Benmore in Argyll, Dawyck in the Borders and Logan in Dumfries & Galloway.

Plants & Landscapes through the Lens (Benmore)

25 April until 2 August

Benmore's Courtyard Gallery hosts this exhibition of plant and landscape photography by David MacKinnon. Limited edition framed prints available to order. Visit www.davidmackinnon.co.uk 

See exhibition details; view all events at Benmore. 

Trekking to Everest (Dawyck)

25 April to 14 June

Mountains, people and plants on the way to the world's highest peak. An exhibition of photos by James Ogilvie and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh staff.

Exhibition details on our website. See all events at Dawyck.

Family fun at Logan

Making Bird Boxes, Tues. 7 April. Come along and make your own bird nesting box to take away with you.

Bugs and Beasties, Fri. 10 April, morning and afternoon. Join in the minibeast hunt and make a 'bug hotel'.

Easter Egg Bonanza, Sun. 12 April. Face painting, paint your own egg and the magical Easter egg hunt!

See all events at Logan.

Members' AGMs and talks

Come along to find out what RBGE's Membership Programme has achieved this year, meet fellow Members and stay for the talk afterwards.

Logan AGM – Wed. 1 April, 2pm. Following the meeting, Andrew Luke from Kew gives a talk entitled 'The World of Kew'.

Dawyck AGM – Mon. 6 April, 7pm. After the meeting, David Knott talks about the evolution of Dawyck Botanic Garden during his watch.

Benmore AGM – Thurs. 16 April, 2pm. Afterwards, Mike Thornley, architect for the restoration of the Benmore Fernery, gives a presentation on the project, plus a walk to the Fernery viewpoint.

Edinburgh AGM – Thurs. 23 April, 6.30pm. Afterwards, Dr Colin Pendry, Flora of Nepal Floristic Researcher, gives a talk entitled 'Plant Collecting in Nepal’s Wild West'.

Enter the Photography Competition 2009

Win a day with RBGE's professional photographer and have your winning photograph published in The Botanics magazine. All prizewinning photographs will form part of a special photography exhibition at the Botanics. The closing date is 30 September.

Download the entry form for more details.

With thanks to...

Image credits:

Ryoko Tamura (Science Festival: family events); Helen Pugh (Garden Ranger events and side bar image); British Library (Inverleith House); RM Speed (photography competition).