Visiting the Greenhouses:

We welcome drop-in visitors to come have a look around to see what's new and also offer self-discovery visits and guided tours for school age children and special groups.

If you are interested in making a day of it and would like to know what other reasons there are to come to UConn there are many - sporting activities, museums, the dairy bar just to name a few.

Planning your Visit

On Your Own:

We are closed weekends and most state holidays.

Parking is limited on the Storrs campus and we advise visitors to park in the North Parking Garage (NPRK on campus map). Upon exiting the garage, walk along Auditorium Road past the Jorgensen Auditorium and past the greenhouses. Enter via the door on the far side where the greenhouses connect to Torrey Life Sciences.

Our staff is generally on-hand to answer any questions you may have or help you find a plant you wish to see.

School Age Groups:

1. The best way to learn about plants is through self-discovery - exploring the greenhouses at your own pace, discovering things for yourself and asking questions. Our facilities are organized in a geographic fashion to allow students the opportunity to see how plants from different parts of the world are both similar and different from each other. We can provide maps of the facility with feature plants highlighted. We are also working to establish a set of age appropriate "scavenger hunt" handouts (sample) which can be tailored for different educational themes.
   There is no charge for self-discovery visits.
    
   Although we welcome unannounced drop-ins during our normal hours, we do request that if you choose to do a self-discovery visit with your group, please contact us so that we can schedule your group to avoid overcrowding and also ensure that we have staff on hand while you are here to answer your questions and help to guide your explorations.
2. A traditional, hour-long guided tour can be provided on a general biodiversity theme. Individual groups should be no larger than 8-10 persons, but we can accommodate up to (4) simultaneous groups if we have enough guides available. A fee is charged to offset the cost of hiring tour guides.

Group Tours:

Groups coming by bus can be dropped off on Glenbrook Road near the Central Utility Plant (CUP on campus map) and follow the walkway down to the greenhouses visible from the dropoff point. Buses should park in 'C' Lot on North Hillside Road until it is time to pick up your group.

Groups driving private vehicles should park in the North Parking Garage as noted in the section 'On Your Own' above.

Contact Clinton Morse - {email preferred} or 860-486-8941 for further details and scheduling of organized tours.