Inverness School Trips, Educational Days Out in Inverness

We are a Scottish Qualifications Authority Training Centre offering short and long term work experience placements and Greenkeeper Apprenticeships

Guided Educational Visits
The Floral Hall consists of an award winning subtropical hothouse, cactus house and beautiful outside gardens where children can experience the fascination of plant diversity and relate this to their understanding of the world's environments. Our qualified staff have many years experience of using the Floral Hall’s wonderful resources when delivering an exciting sessional program of learning opportunities and fun activities that are tailor made to support the primary school curriculum and that enhance the general development of pre-school children. We provide two of the three sessions detailed below for each visiting group. To help you achieve the most from your visit we can supply activity packs you can use to prepare children for their visit and to increase the impact of your time spent at the Garden once you are back at school.

Non-Guided visits

You also have the option of conducting a ‘self contained’ visit where you lead your group without assistance from our tour staff. There are no charges for self contained visits. To help you achieve the most from your visit we can supply you in advance with an activity pack that you can use to prepare pupils for their visit and to increase the impact of your time spent at the Garden once you are back at school. The activity packs, which are easy to photocopy for your pupils, include fun fact sheets, maps, quizzes, word searches, crosswords and colouring-in competition.

Bookings
Educational visits can be arranged in any season and must be pre-booked. There is a particularly high demand for visits during the Easter to Summer term so it makes sense to book as far ahead as you can. Simply phone us on 01463 713553 or contact us through this website by going to our contact page or by emailing Julian.hunter@highland.gov.uk

The pack, which is easy to photocopy for your pupils, is sent to you in advance of your visit and includes fun fact sheets, maps, quizzes, word searches, crosswords and colouring-in competition.

Plant and Grow (For children of all ages):
We have found that children love getting their hands dirty. This fun, hands-on activity gives children the opportunity to plant seeds and take their creations home with them. And don’t worry, ample time is given for children to wash their hands afterwards! This activity takes about 50 minutes.

Senses (Ideal for Pre-school and P1 to P3):
A tour that allows children to use all 5 senses to engage with their surroundings. They can smell herbs, taste tropical fruit, listen for natural sounds, find colourful plants and feel a whole variety of textures. They will also visit the steamy Rainforest and arid Desert as well as having a chance to explore the beautiful Garden outdoors. This session takes about 50 minutes.

A Plant’s Life (Ideal for P4 to P7):
How do plants live in some of the most extreme places on the planet? The children will see how plants have adapted to different habitats around the World. The session will explore insectivorous plants and the Cactus House as well as the Rainforest and outside collection. This activity is a guided session. This tour takes about 50 minutes.

Shedule for Guided Tour Visits

Schedule for groups of up to 17 persons (Pupils & Supervisors/Teachers)
	Pre-school	P1 to P3	P4 to P7

50 mins	Senses	Senses	A Plants Life
15 mins	Break	Break	Break
50 mins	Plant & Grow	Plant & Grow	Plant & Grow

Schedule for groups of 18 to 34 persons (Pupils and Supervisors/Teachers)
	Pre-school		P1 to P3		P4 to P7
	Group A	Group B	Group A	Group B	Group A	Group B
50 mins	Senses	Plant & Grow	Senses	Plant & Grow	A Plants Life	Plant & Grow
15 mins	Break	Break	Break	Break	Break	Break
50 mins	Plant & Grow	Senses	Plant & Grow	Senses	Plant & Grow	A Plants Life

Charges & Payment
We can accommodate a maximum of 17 persons (including supervisors/teachers) on each activity. We make a charge of £2.00 per person for visits lead by our staff. Payment for the full amount should be made either by cash or by cheque (made payable to The Highland Council) on the day of the visit.

Visitors from within the Highland Council need simply to provide the name of their budget holder, the cost centre and subjective code and we will arrange for your payment through the Council’s electronic ORACLE system.

Interactive Sessions with Exotic Insects and Reptiles

As an add-on to your group’s visit to the Floral Hall we are occasionally able to arrange for Nick Martin to provide pupils with interactive session with his amazing range of ‘pets’ including giant millipede, giant hissing cockroach, scorpions, tarantula, snakes, bearded dragon and many more.

These 1 hour sessions can be provided for a maximum of 38 persons (including supervisors/teachers). The cost is £65 for 20 persons or less and an additional £1.25 per person from 21 to 38 persons (including supervisors/teachers).