Beal Botanical Garden: Celebrating 150 Years of People, Plants, and Place

About the Exhibition

Discover how this living laboratory has become a beloved spot in the heart of our campus. The garden has evolved over time, but the ways people engage with it remain the same—it is a place to learn, relax, and grow. Whether you’ve enjoyed the garden over the years, or are just learning about it now, we invite you to celebrate this historic moment with us and to help us define the next chapter of its significance as we look to the future.

Beal Botanical Garden: Celebrating 150 Years of People, Plants, and Place is organized by the W.J. Beal Botanical Garden with the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University. The exhibition is curated by Alice Lynn McMichael, Lab for Education and Advancement in Digital Research director; Bill Hodgkins, Beal Scholar history intern; Michael Stamm, Department of History chair and professor; and Alan Prather, Beal Botanical Garden interim director and Plant Biology associate professor. Support is provided by the Alfred and Jean Goldner Beal Botanical Garden Excellence Fund and the Eli and Edythe Broad Endowed Exhibitions Fund.