Become a Nature Detective with our family-friendly Smart Phone Tour 

 

Do you want to become a nature detective? 

 

Texas Discovery Gardens has partnered with Triskele Technologies to provide a summer challenge for families--on smart phones! (iPads work, too). Just scan the barcode to the left (also on signs around the gardens) and click on the case files you want to crack: we have cases for pre-school, elementary school, middle school and high school. Find answers to the questions in our Gardens and become a Nature Detective!

 

Arthropod of the Month -- Roly Poly, or Pillbug (Armadillidium vulgare)   

 

Stop, Drop, and Roll. Spring brings an abundance of pillbugs to your back yard.     

(c)2009 cygnus921

These terrestrial crustaceans are also known as roly-polies by many Americans and as woodlice in Britain. Pillbugs roll up in a ball as a defense against predators.  Like all crustaceans, they have internal gills, and they depend on moist conditions to respire (breathe)!

The pillbug is native to Europe--it is especially common in the Mediterranean region. It feeds on decaying plants and grazes on lichens and algae from tree bark and walls.

Often kept as pets by children, pillbugs require moist soil and leaf litter with plenty of hiding places like logs, twigs, rocks and stones.  

They live up to three years and will feed on chopped fruits and vegetables like lettuce, squash, cucumbers, and carrots. 

The pillbug's chief predator is the pillbug hunter spider, Dysdera erythrina, which has enlarged fangs (chelicerae) that easily grasp pillbugs when they roll up.

--John Watts, TDG Entomologist

Learn about what's going on in the Gardens when it's happening on our facebook page. Find us and "like" us at facebook.com!  

APRIL 14

6:30 pm - 9:30 pm

Experience cutting edge sustainable and organic couture fashion with Texas Discovery Gardens' Organic in the City Fashion Show + Auction, one of the most innovative events in Dallas, and then take your green fashion home!  

Hors d'oeuvres & Cocktails  ·  Silent Auction  ·  Champagne & Fashion Show

MC: Shelly Slater of WFAA

Music by: Carlos Guedes

Featured Designers:

Nicolas Villalba

Mari Hidalgo / ReWeRKeD

Emerging Design Stars of El Centro

$50/Advance* | $65/Door

$600 Table of 8 - VIP Seating

Limited VIP Seating Available;

all tickets include complimentary valet service

*Advance tickets available until noon, April 11

Buy tickets online or call Susan Lee at (214) 428-7476 x 260

Texas Discovery Gardens at Fair Park  ·  3601 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Eat well and support Texas Discovery Gardens!

Texas Discovery Gardens is pleased to announce that H-E-B has selected EarthShare of Texas to be the beneficiary of its in-store coupon promotion for April, in recognition of Earth Day. This means that customers can tear off and add check-out coupons worth $1, $3, or $5 to their total bill to support environmental work in the Central Texas, Houston, Gulf Coast, Rio Grande Valley and Border, plus North Texas Central  Markets.

H-E-B has supported many EarthShare of Texas organizations with corporate grants or in-kind contributions. The April tear-pad promotion enables H-E-B customers to support the environmental program work of more than three dozen EarthShare of Texas organizations.  Texas Discovery Gardens will benefit, because the  contributions will be divided among EarthShare of Texas organizations with program work in Texas.

Look for the EarthShare of Texas display and tear-off coupons at the check-out stands in more than 200 H-E-B and Central Market stores in  most areas of Texas in late March through April. And help support  Earth Share of Texas and the Texas environment!

Sincerely,

Melissa Martin

Executive Director