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Click here for the 2008 Children's Garden Brochure/Map/Calendar of Events

IT'S NOT JUST FOR KIDS!

Children's Garden Opens - for the Season - June 14 thru Sept 27, 2008
Open for pre-scheduled tours and special event days only

Children’s Garden Events

June 14 – Opening day 10am-4pm  

June 21 – Youth and Children’s Garden Celebration Day
10am-4pm

June 27 – Lady Bug and Lightning Bug Night
Friday Night 7pm-10pm

June 28 & 29 –Open for Garden Tour – Hours same as Garden Tour - LAS Fundraiser

July 12 – Faerie Festival
10am-4pm

July 26 – Soakin’ Saturday
10am – 4pm

Aug. 2 – Butterfly Day
10am-4pm

Aug. 16 – Discovery Day
10am-4pm

Aug. 23 - 24 – Planes, Trains & Automobiles
(Saturday 10am-4pm & Sunday Noon-4pm)

Sept. 13 - Pet Owner Awareness Day
10am-3pm

Sept. 27 – Scarecrow Jubilee
10am-3pm

...And October 25th from 5-8pm for Haunted Garden

General Garden Admission:
Under Age 2: free
Age 2-17: $3.00
Age 18-64: $5.00
Age 65+ & military: $4.00
Family Friendly Pass: $15 (2 adults/3 children)

For more information contact the Leila Arboretum Society at 269-969-0270 x120.

Kids, Curiosity & Connections!
Plants affect every aspect of our lives because all living things are connected. The Children’s Garden is a one-acre site that through delightful, engaging guided programs or self-discovery, makes this connection real. Plant-related activities in this safe, easily-accessible environment encourage kids to use all their senses to connect plants to the sciences, history, literature, and the arts. The Garden’s many Battle Creek and Michigan-themed features are kid magnets! The Garden opened in 2003 and has a classroom, restrooms, drinking fountain, and a bright new pavilion, providing wonderful shelter for programs and private gatherings.

Discoveries to be made at the Children’s Garden

Cupola Science Plaza
Q. What is a cupola?
A. Cupolas are small structures, usually a dome on top of a building. They can be used to view long distances, aid ventilation, or just for looks.

The cupola at the Children?s Garden once stood proudly atop a famous fieldstone sanitarium in Battle Creek where people could go to rest and recuperate in the early 1900s. Caring people gave it a new home and today it is a fun place to gather in the Garden to enjoy a snack, learn something new, and make new friends. It is surrounded by four mini-gardens that share Battle Creek’s special link to the health food industry.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Garden
Q. Where do peanut butter and jelly come from?
A. Peanut butter comes from peanuts and jelly is made from fruits, including strawberries and grapes. These foods grow in the Children’s Garden! If you come when the strawberries are ripe in June or the grapes are ripe in August you can have a taste!

Healthy Me Area
Kids can make connections to the role that plants play in making their stomachs happy. The centerpiece of this area is a giant salad bowl garden with four mini gardens nearby.

Q. Mmmm. Good stuff goes into the making of a pizza. Do you know what it is? Who ate the missing slice of veggie pizza in our Pizza Garden?
A. (We know, but we’re not telling! Come find out for yourself.)

Q. What makes your soap and shampoo smell so good? It can’t be something from a plant, can it?
A. Yes, it can and at the Spa Garden you can smell for yourself!

Q. Your parents tell you to eat your veggies because they are good for you. But do you know which vegetables are the most nutritious? Is broccoli on the list?
A. (Come find out in our Top Ten Veggies Garden and eat up!)

Q. The people who lived in Michigan a long time ago did not have prescriptions for pills or lotions when they felt sick or had an injury. What did they do to get well?
A. They used herbs and other plants, many of which we still use today. Some of them are right here in our Healing Herbs Garden.

Cereal Bowl Area
A visit to Battle Creek would not be complete without learning about cereal. Here children can see where cereal comes from and grind their own grains and corn.

Rain and Shine Garden
Q. Is it really true that you can tell time with your body and the help of the sun?
A. Yes, it is true. Try it and see.

Balloon Overlook
Q. What does a hot air balloon have to do with a garden?
A. Plenty, when the garden is in Battle Creek, well known for its hot-air balloon events. Our replica of “Bob’s Cat” honors one of the city’s most famous balloons!

The Rot Zone
Q. Would you believe that worms and rotting fruits and veggies are important to our world and even to the gardens we grow?
A. Believe it or not, worms are wonderful! The Worm House is a favorite place for children visiting the gardens.

Multicultural Garden
Battle Creek is a wonderfully diverse city. What better way to celebrate that diversity than with plants from various cultures – African American, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American. Understanding that we can enjoy one another’s cooking traditions helps us appreciate one another as people.

There are still many more areas for exploration and delightful discovery in the Children’s Garden we haven’t described. Come be captivated by the Butterfly Garden and learn about the lifecycle of these fluttering friends. Watch children squeal with glee to find that there are plants that perform, look like animals, or have names from A to Z. There are plants that became a part of popular stories like Jack and the Beanstalk and even gardens that are made beautiful with stones, water, and carefully-chosen colors.

Have a Private Party in the Children’s Garden or Arboretum!
Children’s Garden and Leila Arboretum sites are available for birthdays, ceremonies and private events for families, adults or children with adult supervision. Call to discuss arrangements for special events and see information elsewhere on this website.

Children’s Birthday Parties: Reserved under pavilion. Call 969-0270 ext. 116 to discuss rates and items.

Other Nature and Plant-Related Opportunities for Children
Each year, through Arbor Week, during the last week in April, people across the country and around the world, celebrate the life-benefiting role that trees have in our lives through Arbor Week. Programs are offered every day amid the beautiful trees of the Leila Arboretum to help students appreciate their glory. How do trees function? How do they help clean our air? Why is the shade they provide important? What if the world had no more trees? How can we tell how old a tree is? Why do we have so many different kinds of trees? Students take home tree seedlings to begin their own contribution to making the world a healthier place.

If you would like the help of Leila Arboretum Society staff to plan an activity in the Horticulture Training Center, the greenhouse, Arboretum, or Children’s Garden, please call 269-969-0270, Stacey x124 or Sue K. x116.

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