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Programs for Families and Children

Family Programs

Discovery Garden

Discovery Garden

Our outdoor adventure garden is designed especially for young children to explore plant life from a kid's perspective. Children may visit sense-ational plants and colorful flowers, follow butterflies and birds in a wildlife meadow, pump water down a bamboo waterfall to a stream, hide under a tree, hike a nature trail, and meet a giant green spider. The Discovery Garden includes safe areas designed for toddlers to experience plant life firsthand and have fun. Come visit the Discovery Garden during regular garden hours. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Visit us often!

Drop-In Discovery Programs

(For children ages 3 to 10 accompanied by a caregiver.) Registration is not required. All programs are included with BBG admission fee.

Weekdays:

Discovery Tuesdays!

Tuesday is Discovery Day for young children interested in exploring plants up close! These 15-minute, drop-in plant workshops allow children and families to be plant detectives and discover new parts of the Discovery Garden. Hands-on activities are educational and creative; they include nature explorations, plantings, and garden arts for kids to take home.

Tuesdays in May, June, July, and August | Drop-in time: 2–4 p.m.
Discovery Garden
(Canceled in case of inclement weather)

Weekends:

Spring Sprouts

Celebrate spring by planting seeds in your garden or windowbox! Learn about seeds, how they sprout, and the different types of seeds kids can grow easily at home. Taste some yummy seed treats and explore the many ways seeds are important in our lives.

Sunday, April 13 | 2–4 p.m.
Discovery Garden (Inclement weather: Steinhardt Conservatory, lower level)

Brooklyn Children's Museum:

Museum On-the-Go Monthly Weekend Series:

Join educators from Brooklyn Children's Museum at the Garden this winter while their Museum completes its expansion.

Garden Mosaics

Explore how artists have used plants to create wonderful mosaic designs. See an authentic Mosaico de Popote from Mexico and then create your own patterned artwork to take home. All ages welcome.

Saturday, March 15 | 2–4 p.m.
Steinhardt Conservatory, lower level

Wildlife Detectives in the Garden

Marvel at the wonders of wildlife in the springtime as you investigate animal evidence such as nests, molts, eggs, and tracks. Meet a scaly animal from the Museum's collection and investigate a mystery specimen left behind by an animal. Make a craft project using bones recovered from an owl pellet dissection. Ages five and older welcome.

Sunday, April 6 | 2–4 p.m.
Steinhardt Conservatory, lower level

Make the Garden Grow!

Get down and dirty while planting colorful garden annuals in the Discovery Garden. Learn how we plant and grow plants in our garden, and have your turn planting a seedling in our Rainbow Garden. Kids may design and plant their own colorful dish garden to take home.

Sunday, May 18 | Drop in time: 2–4 p.m.
Discovery Garden
(Canceled in case of inclement weather)

Storytelling Saturdays!

Lend an ear on Saturday afternoons in the Discovery Garden as we read garden stories out loud! Hear tales of garden adventures, animal journeys, and nature explorations throughout the seasons. Do you have a story to share with us about a garden? Bring it along for show and tell! Stories will be repeated throughout the workshop, and props and activities will supplement seasonal story themes.

Saturdays in May, June, July, and August | Drop-in time: 2–4 p.m.
Discovery Garden Toddler Lawn
(Canceled in case of inclement weather)

Wonderful Water Plants!

Drop by the Discovery Garden to explore the many types of floating water plants that live in our water table! Look up close with magnifiers and use your senses to learn how these plants grow—indoors and out! Kids may pour their own water garden to take home.

Sunday, July 13 and Sunday, August 10 | Drop-in time: 2–4 p.m.
Discovery Garden
(Inclement weather: Steinhardt Conservatory, lower level)