Como Park Conservatory is located in St. Paul, MN. Open year-round, the warm indoor space, filled with plants and flowers from around the world, offers a welcome escape from dreary Minnesota winters.
Admission to the Conservatory is free for all visitors. A suggested donation of $4 for adults and $2 for kids is listed (and much appreciated to support their work in caring for the animals and plants), but all are welcome, whether or not they choose to donate. Visiting the Conservatory is an affordable indoor winter activity, ideal for college students, young families, and anyone looking to transport themselves to a warmer environment.
After entering through the Visitor Center’s doors, take a left and enjoy wandering through the Tropical Encounters Exhibit, an authentic neo-tropical rainforest, combining both the plant and animal worlds. Then make your way to the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory, exploring the humid Fern Room, the expansive Palm Dome, and the popular North Garden, well-known for its bright space and vibrant flower beds.
Be sure to check out the signs throughout the Conservatory, showcasing where, around the world, these plants and flowers commonly grow, and if they are used for anything in particular. You might learn something new!
The following photos have been taken and edited by Rachel Bergh. This is student work for a class assignment. This work is not affiliated with Como Park Conservatory.
As AI is becoming more and more prevalent across our culture, it’s crucial to be aware of it, to decide if using it is appropriate for the work, and to know how to use it.
The following photos were taken by me at the Como Park Conservatory and then later edited/enhanced using AI tools. I used AI features on Lightroom to automatically adjust the lighting and color, and then used Generative AI in Photoshop to remove any people. This paints the Conservatory in a new light, where one can truly escape into a new environment and unwind peacefully.
Although these changes using AI are minor, I decided to place these photos separately from my original work to distinguish what has been edited completely by me and what has been edited with the aid of AI tools. I would also like to mention that although Generative AI has come a long way, it is not perfect. The imperfections on the photo below are minor, so I decided to still include it in the final work.
Generative AI was used to remove people from this photo
DISCLAIMER: This is student work for a class assignment. This work is not affiliated with Como Park Conservatory.