All program descriptions are listed below the form for reference.
Program Descriptions
Local Legends: Animals of Southeast Texas (Fall/Winter/Spring)
Video Description: Investigate the animals who call Southeast Texas home. It’s exciting to explore exotic animals, but our Texas animal friends deserve some attention too. Show off your Texas pride by getting to know the animals with whom we share our state. We’ll explore animals that live in the swamp, forest, meadow, and bayou. Can you guess who we might meet on this adventure?!
Classroom Kit Description: Use what you discovered to play Local Legends BINGO! But wait, this is not just a regular bingo game, it’s also an exciting challenge. The student who calls BINGO first even gets a prize!
Creature Features (Fall/Winter/Spring)
Video Description: Let’s explore animal categories. We’ll dive into the differences between reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and birds to discover what makes each unique. We’ll see some animals up close and some animals incognito as they go about their daily lives.
Classroom Kit Description: Take what you learned to create your own creature. We’ll send a class set of air dry clay for students to model one of the animals we explored in the video or take characteristics from more than one animal to make a completely new creature.
H2O Inspectors (Spring)
Video Description: Come on a virtual adventure as we explore the major water features around Shangri La Gardens. We’ll discover how water interacts with the rest of the ecosystem, and where water goes when it rains. We’ll feature Adams Bayou, the watershed for portions of Orange and surrounding cities, and investigate the connection between the watershed and our community.
Classroom Kit Description: Introduce your students to the experimental process. We’ll send a sample from Adams Bayou back to your classroom along with a water quality testing kit. Students will be tasked to compare the water quality from Adams Bayou with the water from their school’s tap and then explore what their results mean.
*This lesson will not include goggles for students, goggles need to be provided by school
The Symphony at Shangri La Gardens (Fall/Winter/Spring)
Video Description: Join Shangri La Gardens, the Symphony of Southeast Texas, and the Lutcher Theater for a virtual learning opportunity where music meets nature. Featuring The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns, we engage our active listening skills to find the similarities between the sounds of music and Mother Earth. Through this lesson we integrate the arts and sciences, discovering the many characters of nature and animals that can be replicated through music.
This two-part video series features a follow-along classroom booklet designed to keep your students engaged, while Maestro Tipton leads the Symphony of Southeast Texas through this exciting piece. Critical thinking skills will be utilized and practiced, as the animals featured in Camille Saint-Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals are compared to the animals found at Shangri La Gardens.
Classroom Kit Description: Continue the musical journey by exploring pitch and vibration. In this hands-on opportunity students will make their very own Sensational Sound Sandwich, a harmonica like instrument! Then, students will be tasked to experiment with their instrument and discover different musical elements.
Live Sessions
Call 409-670-9113 or email Jamie Massa, jmassa@shangrilagardens.org, to reserve Question Session Programs.
Live Virtual Question Session (Fall/Winter/Spring)
Sign up for a live virtual question conference with our Shangri La Educators. In this 20-minute session your students can ask questions about content from one of our program videos! Schedule the date, time, and video you’d like to discuss. We can’t wait to hear your questions. This is a LIVE scheduled session.
LIVE Virtual Field Trip – Teachers Choice!
Join us for a 20-minute LIVE virtual field trip where we’ll explore the best of the gardens, together. Is there something you especially miss about Shangri La Gardens? We can customize this LIVE virtual experience to explore your favorite place, or a Shangri La Educator will assist you in choosing a feature that looks especially spectacular depending on the season.