•  
• ENJOY YOUR VISIT
  • Events Calendar
  • Visiting the Garden
  • Directions
  • What's In Bloom
  • For Families
  • Flower Shows
  • Garden Trams
  • Wellness/Lifestyle
    Programs
  • Dining
  • The Garden Shop
• AT THE GARDEN
  • Plant Collections
  • General Info
  • Explore the Garden
  • Group Visits
  • Corporate and
    Private Events
  • Press Room
  • Employment
  • Contact Us
• YOUR GARDEN
  • Gardening Help
  • Plant Information
    Service
  • Illinois'
    Best Plants
• EDUCATION
  • Regenstein School
  • Degree Programs
  • Windy City
    Harvest
  • Teachers and Students
  • After-school & Camp Programs
  • Horticultural Therapy
  • Community Gardening
  • Lenhardt Library
• PLANT SCIENCE
  • Science at the Garden
  • Our Scientists
  • Science Resources
• SUPPORT US
  • Membership
  • Give to the Garden
  • To Volunteer
  • Annual Report

For families

 

Extend Your Visit

Encourage your kids to be botanists. Invite them to join you in planting, weeding, and helping out in your own garden. Children of all ages can be given appropriate jobs, from carrying water, to organizing tools, to investigating the sun or shade potential of a site. Your flower or vegetable garden is the perfect spot to plant the seed of interest in your children or grandchildren.

Check the Garden's calendar. The calendar on the website is constantly updated with new and exciting activities and events. There are events geared to children of all ages. Some events, such as flower shows or evening musical performances, appeal to visitors young and old.

Plan your visit, considering the weather and the temperament of your accompanying children. Wear comfortable shoes and think about whether a stroller or wagon might enable you to spend more time at the Garden. Bring hats and sunglasses for sunny days, and have an umbrella if you or the children might enjoy a rainy walk in the woods. If you plan to visit during mealtime, the Garden Café is a perfect spot for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

WHILE YOU’RE AT THE GARDEN:

Take advantage of the Garden’s games for children. Activity cards for Bingo are free at the Visitor Center Information Desk. Play the alphabet game, or do a treasure hunt searching for animals, colors or bridges.

Engage the children in conversation about their Garden experience. Let your children run and jump and explore, and when it’s time to sit down, perhaps they will be ready to talk about what they have seen, heard, or smelled.

Follow their lead. If the children stop or slow down, take their cues. You may not get all the way to the Malott Japanese Garden or through the Rose Garden, but perhaps the children will linger feeling the spray of a fountain or watching a duckling swim. Allow them to set the pace.

Take breaks. Know where the food, drinks and restrooms are. Use the website’s map, or look closely at the maps available at the Visitor Center Information desk.

KEEP THE EXCITEMENT AFTER YOUR VISIT:

After your successful visit to the Garden, continue botanical activities at home. As your garden changes throughout the year, encourage your children to observe and participate. Check back in at the Chicago Botanic Garden to see how the changing seasons have affected the areas you visited. How have the trees changed? The flowers? The animals? Share your gardening passion with your children or grandchildren. The goal is for you and your children to enjoy the outdoors together.