The Green-Wood Cemetery is a 478-acre cemetery, arboretum, historic landmark, and public art space. Green-Wood offers unique, standards-based programs that will captivate students in grades 3K through 12 in Brooklyn’s most unique outdoor classroom! Bring your class to the gravesites of influential, fascinating, and unsung witnesses to history; explore trees and wildlife in our environmental education programs; or sketch and analyze the distinctive art and architecture that covers our grounds.
Explore program options below or via PDF here.
When you’re ready to start the booking process, click the green button!
Programs (Click to expand)
Environmental Education
Seasons in Our City: Sensory Nature Exploration Recommended for grades 3k-1 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
The Cemetery is a beautiful place for the youngest of students to observe the natural cycles of life, death, and rebirth that continue each year. Each program will follow a broad, seasonal theme, allowing students to explore a rotating selection of the best trees, plants, and animals based on current phenology and weather.
Frozen in Time: Investigating Green-Wood’s Glacial Past* Recommended for grades 2-5 (Trolley Program)
Green-Wood’s landscape preserves some of the original topography of Brooklyn as it looked 18,000 when the Wisconsin Glacier hit its terminal moraine across the middle of the cemetery and began to recede. In this program, students learn to spot signs of the glacier’s spread and how it affected the land as they stand atop the highest natural point in Brooklyn, walk the moraine’s border, and find boulders the glacier pushed across Green-Wood’s grounds. As they explore, students begin to make connections between natural climate change thousands of years ago and human-caused climate change today.
*Only available as a trolley program.
3k-1st Grade Great Trees of Green-Wood Recommended for grades 3k-1 (Walking Program, or Trolley Program)
As the highest-accredited arboretum in New York City, Green-Wood is the perfect place for young learners to explore the features of trees and how they change seasonally. In this program, students will use their senses to observe trees and record their findings during hands-on activities
Trees in the Urban Forest Recommended for grades 2-8 (Walking Program and Trolley Program)
Green-Wood is an urban grassland and arboretum, as well as a burial ground. In this program, students use Green-Wood as a living laboratory to study the relationship between urban green spaces and the city we live in. Includes a seasonal activity.
3k-1st Grade Urban Birding Basics Recommended for grades 3k-1 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
Learn about many types of birds that live at Green-Wood by observing them in their natural habitat! Students will search for birds among the trees, in the meadows, trees, or while swimming in ponds, all while learning important skills for urban birding.
2nd-8th Grade Urban Birding Basics Recommended for grades 2-8 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
Have you ever looked at a bird and wondered what it’s doing? Learn about common types of bird behaviors by observing them at Green-Wood! Students will search for birds in the grass, trees, and ponds, and even on grave monuments, to collect data on the different ways birds communicate and how they have adapted to survive.
3k-1st Grade Biodiversity in Bloom: Plants and Pollinators** Recommended for grades 3k-1
(Walking Program or Trolley Program)
Green-Wood is an active cemetery and a vibrant green space. In this program, students will learn about the bugs that thrive here thanks to the many flowering plants that cover the cemetery, and how people can steward their survival even in a city. Includes a nature walk and seasonal activity
**This program is only available May through October.
2nd-8th Grade Biodiversity in Bloom: Plants and Pollinators** Recommended for grades 2-8 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
In this program, students explore both introduced and endemic species at Green-Wood and discuss their impact on pollinators. Is it always detrimental to introduce new species to the environment? What is the value in supporting and reintroducing endemic species? How does the Horticulture team maintain and bolster environmental health and species biodiversity in a space designed for human use?
**This program is only available May through October.
Graveside History
Immigration History at Green-Wood Recommended for grades 2-12 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
In this program, students visit the monuments of immigrants interred at Green-Wood who left a mark on their new home as artists, entrepreneurs, and community-builders. Participants will explore the history of immigration to New York while making past-present connections through topics such as food, holidays, language, and more.
Black History at Green-Wood Recommended for grades 4-12 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
In this program, students discover the lives and work of Black New Yorkers who are interred at Green-Wood: doctors, artists, journalists, activists, and more. While visiting their monuments, students consider: What do their lives and experiences tell us about the times in which they lived? How are they memorialized?
LGBTQ+ History at Green-Wood Recommended for grades 4-12 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
In this program, students visit the monuments of both famous and unknown historical figures who are identified (or might identify today) as part of the LGBTQ community. Explore their stories, see how they are memorialized at Green-Wood, and consider how gender expression and sexuality impacted their lives and legacies.
Women’s History at Green-Wood Recommended for grades 4-12 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
Explore the lives and legacies of women interred at Green-Wood who both defied and embodied the times in which they lived: suffragists, spiritualists, artists, actors, authors, activists, and more. In this program, students will visit multiple monuments to discover how these women made their mark- and consider how they are memorialized today.
Innovators and Activists of Green-Wood Recommended for grades 4-12 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
As New York’s first premier cemetery, Green-Wood is the permanent home to thousands of people who changed the world over the past four centuries. In this program, students will visit the monuments of some of the visionaries interred here and discover their impact on American social and political movements, technology, and culture. They will compare these changemakers’ achievements in life to how they are memorialized in death.
The American Revolution at Green-Wood Recommended for grades 4-12 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
How should we memorialize a battle we lost in a war that we won? In this program, students march to the top of Battle Hill, the highest natural point in Brooklyn and the site of one of the first battles of the American Revolution, fought in 1776. When they reach the top, students study the monument to Minerva and the Altar to Liberty and explore how the Battle of Brooklyn is remembered today.
Lives of the Civil War at Green-Wood Recommended for grades 4-12 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
Green-Wood is a permanent residence for more than 5,000 Civil War soldiers and tens of thousands more who experienced the war as civilians, nurses, abolitionists, and more. Travel on our historic trolley to some of their gravesites. Learn how the Civil War was a catalyst for change in New York and consider the roles that Green-Wood’s permanent residents played in this pivotal era.
Art History
Wondrous Windows: Stained Glass at Green-Wood* Recommended for grades 3K-1 or 2-5 (3K-1st Grade Trolley Program or 2nd-5th Grade Trolley Program)
In this program, students visit the Cemetery’s most unique, elaborate, and expressive memorials to learn how people’s lives are celebrated through public art. See larger-than-life firemen, ships, and rope carved in stone, and even a giant baseball. Students will practice close looking and storytelling while considering how we can publicly honor community heroes.
*This is only offered as a trolley program.
Marvelous Monuments* Recommended for K-1 or 2-12 (K-1st Grade Trolley Program or 2nd Grade and Older Trolley Program)
In this program, students visit the cemetery’s most unique, elaborate, and expressive memorials to learn how people’s lives are celebrated through public art. See larger-than-life firemen, ships, and rope carved in stone, and even a giant baseball. Students will practice close looking and storytelling while considering how we can publicly honor community heroes.
*This is only offered as a trolley program.
Stories in Stone Recommended for grades 2-12 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
In this program, students become cemetery sleuths. They learn about how anchors aren’t just for sailors, identifying those who belonged to special societies, and other secrets carved in stone. Participants will explore the cemetery and search for symbols on a scavenger hunt, before considering what symbols are important to them.
Architecture of the Afterlife Recommended for grades 4-12 (Walking Program or Trolley Program)
As a city of the dead, Green-Wood is full of stunning structures built to show off architects’ skills, communicate wealth, power, and identity, and most importantly, be places to reside… forever. In this program, students study and sketch masterpieces of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century architecture at Green-Wood while learning to identify common architectural styles that appear not only in Green-Wood, but all over their city.
Program Details
Green-Wood school programs take place at the Cemetery and are led by experienced Green-Wood educators. Programs include discussion, inquiry-based exploration, and/or a hands-on component. All programs are tailored to specific grade levels and support a variety of DOE and other curriculum-based standards. We conduct walking programs and ones using our historical trolley.
Group Logistics:
- Each guided Green-Wood school program can accommodate a group size of up to 30 people, including students and their adult chaperones. We follow DOE guidelines as per required student-to-adult chaperone ratios.
- Walking programs range from 60 to 90 minutes and take place completely outdoors, rain or shine. Walking programs can be scheduled Monday through Friday between 10am and 1pm. We can typically accommodate two groups simultaneously every weekday, pending availability. Note that none of Green-Wood’s walking programs are ADA-compliant; however, we will do our best to create mobility aid-friendly program routes whenever possible.
- Trolley programs last 90 minutes to two hours and take place partially outside and partially on the trolley, rain or shine. The trolley is ADA-compliant and can accommodate up to two wheelchairs.
- Green-Wood school programs start and end near one of Green-Wood’s four entrances. Green-Wood is very big, and our entrances are not near each other. It is ESSENTIAL that you arrive at the correct entrance gate for your program. Please refer to your booking request or confirmation form for the correct entrance gate and address where you will meet your educator.
- If traveling by yellow bus, please ensure the bus driver has the correct address for your starting location gate.
- Arrival at the wrong Green-Wood entrance gate may result in program delays or cancellation. Groups are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes early to check in and use the restroom.
Program Rates
- Walking program prices
- Title 1: $120
- Public: $180
- Private/Non-NYC: $250
- Trolley program prices
- Title 1: $250
- Public: $325
- Private/Non-NYC: $400
If your school is located in Assembly District 44, you may be entitled to a free program courtesy of Assembly Member Robert Carroll. Please indicate that you are an AD44 school on your booking request form.
Custom Programs
If you are interested in a program theme not listed above or wish to customize any of the above programs, Green-Wood’s director of education, Rachel Walman, would be happy to work with you! Please contact education@green-wood.com at least four weeks in advance of your ideal program date. Custom program pricing will be determined based on the length and content of the program.
Registration
To request your school program, please click the “REQUEST A SCHOOL PROGRAM” button above. Programs MUST be booked and paid for (or a purchase order number issued) a minimum of two weeks in advance.
Questions? Please email education@green-wood.com.
Other Program Information
Before Your School Program
Visiting a cemetery is a unique experience that can evoke a range of emotions, assumptions, memories, and questions, whether or not a person has experienced loss. We ask that all teachers review the information and resources on our “Before Your School Program” page in advance of school visits.
Special Needs
Please provide us with any relevant information that will help us make your program a success. Please note that none of Green-Wood’s walking programs are ADA compliant and may cover hilly, grassy, and uneven terrain. The trolley is ADA compliant and can accommodate up to two wheelchairs.
Lunch
Though picnics are prohibited for the general public, school groups may arrange to eat lunch on our grounds at the time of booking. Please indicate that you would like to eat lunch at Green-Wood in your booking request, and please see our full Lunch Guidelines here.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, please email education@green-wood.com.
Reschedule & Cancellation Policy
Weather Policy
Green-Wood school programs take place outdoors or on our trolley if the trolley has been booked in advance. We will not cancel or refund programs unless weather conditions are severe. We will proceed with walking and trolley programs during light to moderate rain and/or wind. In cases of extreme heat or cold, we will modify or cancel the program in consultation with the lead teacher.
If you are concerned about the weather for your program, please check the forecast and email us AT LEAST 48 hours before the program date and time to reschedule or cancel free of charge.
To prepare for your program in rain, cold, wind, or heat, please note:
- Students should wear closed-toe shoes and weather-appropriate clothing.
- Green-Wood has water bottle filling stations near the Main Entrance and Fort Hamilton Parkway Entrance. Students are encouraged to carry water bottles during programs.
- Green-Wood can provide to students, upon request:
- disposable ponchos
- cooling towels (please arrive ten minutes early to activate these)
- Green-Wood’s trolley has heat and AC.
Rescheduling Policy
Green-Wood always wants to accommodate schools and meet their needs. At the same time, there are limits to our ability to reconfigure our programming schedule after we have confirmed programs.
If you wish to reschedule your program for any reason, you must submit a request by email to education@green-wood.com. Please do not text or call, as we need a written record of the request to avoid scheduling confusion. Please note that rebookings are subject to availability.
If we receive your request at least 48 hours before a scheduled program (or before 5 pm on the THURSDAY before a program the following Monday), we will rebook you at no extra charge or cancel and offer you a full refund.
If you request a reschedule within 48 hours of your scheduled program (or after 5 pm on the THURSDAY before a program the following Monday), this is considered a cancellation, and we will have to charge a full program fee to rebook you.
Cancellation Policy
If you wish to cancel your program entirely, you must submit a notice of cancellation to education@green-wood.com. We need a written notice to avoid scheduling confusion. Only cancellations submitted by email will be eligible for full or partial refunds.
If you cancel with at least 48 hours’ notice (or before 5 pm on the THURSDAY before a program the following Monday), you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel a program with fewer than 48 hours’ notice (or after 5 pm on the THURSDAY before a program the following Monday) before a scheduled program, we are unable to offer any refund.
Further Refund Policies
Green-Wood strives to offer the best school programming possible. If you are not satisfied with your program, please contact education director Rachel Walman at 718-210-3060 or rwalman@green-wood.com to discuss your experience. Refunds will be issued as deemed appropriate by the education director.
In addition to the policies stated above, program fees also will NOT be refunded if:
- You fail to arrive on the date of your program.
- You receive a shortened program due to late arrival or arrival at a different entrance to the Cemetery than was agreed upon.
- You arrive for your program during a different time slot than you scheduled, and we are unable to accommodate you. We will make every effort to accommodate you, but we cannot guarantee it.
- You request to reschedule a program for the second time. Due to our complicated schedule of programs and limited staff, we will have to regard such a request as an entirely new program booking and charge the full program price.