The Gardens Experience
Lena Meijer Children's Garden
The Lena Meijer Children’s Garden is unique in many ways. It has a delightful assortment of child-friendly sculpture, gorgeous and clever plantings, engrossing interactive activities, helpful PALs (Play and Activity Leaders), and a real wetlands running through the middle.
All areas of the garden invite investigation and family fun.
- Enter through the full-size gate or through a mouse hole!
- In the Kid-Sense Garden find a leaf that feels like a lamb’s ear or discover a flower that looks like an eyeball; use your senses in this whimsical, sensory setting.
- Visit the Great Lakes Garden to launch a boat or build a bridge, then see if you can walk on all the Great Lakes states.
- Put on a puppet show in the Story-Telling Garden, complete with performance hut and amphitheater seats.
- Pretend to be a beaver in the Wooded Wetlands by entering the kid-sized beaver lodge.
- In the Rock Quarry dig for buried fossils and fossil factoids—with hands, shovels, or hand-operated diggers.
- Pretend to be a pioneer in the Log Cabin by playing skittles, weaving on a loom and unleashing your imagination.
- “Climb” into Treehouse Village via stairs or ramps, then sit in an enormous bird’s nest, play the “Who Lives Here” game, or look for giant insects.
- Stroll along the Sculpture Walk and meet Family of Wolves, Juggling Clown, Friendly Dragons and many other sculptures; spin the sculpture spinner to find the details.
- Follow the bricks of the Labyrinth until you find the center (no cheating!).
- Solve the Butterfly Maze by navigating past photo panels, playing steel drums and choosing the right paths.
- Sit, relax and enjoy the amazing creativity of topiaries and plantings.
Open year round, the Children’s Garden bursts with activity every summer—with discovery carts, story-time presentations, noon-time challenges and loads of fun. Visit the Children’s Garden and follow your curiosity.
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