The Gardens Visitor Information Centre is situated above the Carparks and provides a first introduction and orientation to visitors to the Gardens. PHOTO

A display of plants from the nursery and glasshouses greets visitors as they enter the VIC. Inside is the Botanical Bookshop, the Visitor Information Desk, a small botanical reference library, the Public Reference Herbarium, displays on botanical themes and a video presentation on activities of the Gardens.

The Visitor Information Desk is staffed from 9:30 to 4:30 each day of the week, and visitors can pick up maps of the Gardens, brochures on a number of themes and seek advice on places to visit in the Gardens.

Two electric wheelchairs are available if visitors need them to get around the Gardens. Bookings are advisable.

Botanical enquiries are handled by the staff at the VIC, and plant specimens can be identified with the aid of the Public Reference herbarium and botanical library, or by leaving specimens to be identified for attention by botanists from the Australian National Herbarium at the Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research.

Leaflets are provided on a range of aspects about the Gardens and the Australian flora, including a general guide, self-guided walks, In Flower This Week, plant groups, facts and figures, memorials and bibliographies. Donations are requested to cover costs of the information leaflets.

 Educational Displays covering a wide range of topics including vegetation types, plant groups, animal-plant interactions, human uses of plants, conservation and botanical art are set up from time to time in the Information Centre. Where appropriate these are linked with outdoor activities in the Gardens and supported with printed material. The displays are made available, usually in a modified form, to regional botanic gardens or other suitable venues for exhibition.

Booking for the ANBG Theatrette and the Dickson meeting room can be made through the VIC.

The Visitor Information Centre can be contacted on
Telephone: (06)2509 540
or by email to anbg-info@anbg.gov.au.