Clark Bonsai Museum — Make Your Own Bonsai Class

Category: Learning Also called: Make Your Own Bonsai at the Clark Bonsai Garden; Clark Bonsai Museum class at Shinzen Friendship Garden; clarkbonsaimuseum.org (Fresno, California)

What it is

Make Your Own Bonsai is a paid, hands-on beginner bonsai class run by the Clark Bonsai Museum in Fresno, California. The museum is a non-profit “living museum encompassing the history of the art of bonsai in California and an educational center,” located inside Shinzen Friendship Garden at Woodward Park. Its class page says participants “will learn the fundamentals of bonsai design and care while creating their own bonsai tree to take home.” It is a class from a museum, not a club or a nursery.

Official URL

Class page: https://clarkbonsaimuseum.org/activities/

November 7, 2026 session: https://clarkbonsaimuseum.org/event/make-your-own-bonsai-9/
December 5, 2026 session: https://clarkbonsaimuseum.org/event/make-your-own-bonsai-6/
Events calendar: https://clarkbonsaimuseum.org/events/list/
Current exhibition: https://clarkbonsaimuseum.org/current-exhibition/
About: https://clarkbonsaimuseum.org/about-us/
Contact: https://clarkbonsaimuseum.org/contact/
Home: https://clarkbonsaimuseum.org/

Last checked

2026-11-03.

Who it’s for

Complete beginners in Fresno and the Central Valley who want a two-hour, materials-included class that ends with their own bonsai to take home, taught among a public bonsai collection rather than in a classroom.

Why it’s listed

It is a recurring, dated, priced beginner class from a first-party bonsai museum with online registration. Checked on 2026-11-03:

Schedule: “First Saturday of Every Month at 10:00 AM.” The events calendar lists Saturday, November 7, 2026, 10:00 am–12:00 pm and Saturday, December 5, 2026, 10:00 am–12:00 pm, at Shinzen Japanese Garden @ Woodward Park, 7775 N Friant Rd, Fresno, CA 93720.
What you do: an interactive class on the fundamentals of bonsai design and care in which you create your own bonsai tree to take home, with “clear, simple instruction on proper bonsai care” and the foundational knowledge “needed to create another bonsai in the future.”
Included: “All tools and materials are provided.”
Teachers: “Classes are taught by members of the Clark Bonsai Museum’s Curatorial Team.”
Price: $75 per participant, payment due at registration, no refunds. “Woodward Park parking fees and Shinzen Garden entrance fees apply.”
How to register: online through the registration form on the museum’s site, or in person with a docent in the bonsai garden at Shinzen Friendship Garden.
The museum: the About page says it became a non-profit 501(c)(3) in 2024, continuing the legacy of Bill and Libby Clark with support from the Golden State Bonsai Federation, and is a member of the American Alliance of Museums. Its current exhibition, Four Seasons: An Exhibition of Deciduous Bonsai, opened November 1, 2026 and runs to March 29, 2027.

Location

Class venue: Clark Bonsai Garden at Shinzen Friendship Garden, Woodward Park, 7775 N Friant Rd, Fresno, California 93720 (per the event pages).

Museum address on the exhibition page: 114 W Audubon Dr, Fresno, CA 93720. Phone (Contact page): 559-914-0030.

Notes

Finn flags: the class page gives no seat limit, minimum age or what tree species you will work on. Garden entry and parking are extra and their prices are not printed on the class page. Questions go to a personal Gmail address printed on the page ([email protected]; Marc Stamper is the board president), not a museum mailbox. Two addresses appear on the site: the 7775 N Friant Rd park venue on event pages and 114 W Audubon Dr on the exhibition page; both are Woodward Park. The exhibition page misprints the closing date as “March 29, 2026”; the home page says March 29, 2027.
Related: California already has Descanso Gardens (La Cañada Flintridge) and the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt (Oakland) under Learning, and several California clubs. This is the first Central Valley listing. The museum’s free Story Time in the Bonsai Garden for children runs on the third Saturday of the month.
Listing image: the museum’s official Clark Bonsai Museum logo from its site header, saved as clark-bonsai-museum-make-your-own-bonsai-logo.png.
Not affiliated with Bonsai Plaza. No registration, payment, form or contact was made.

FAQ

Q: When is the Clark Bonsai Museum’s Make Your Own Bonsai class? A: The first Saturday of every month, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The next listed dates are November 7 and December 5, 2026.

Q: How much does it cost? A: $75 per participant, paid at registration with no refunds. Woodward Park parking and Shinzen Garden entrance fees are extra.

Q: Do I need my own tree or tools? A: No. All tools and materials are provided, and you take home the bonsai you make.

Q: Where is the class held? A: In the Clark Bonsai Garden inside Shinzen Friendship Garden at Woodward Park, 7775 N Friant Rd, Fresno, CA 93720.

Q: How do I sign up? A: Register and pay online through the form on the museum’s class page, or sign up in person with a docent in the bonsai garden.