Dig in
Get some garden time at the Arboretum with your little sprout!
Helping your child get more connected to the natural world doesn’t have to mean yet another trip to the local park or grand excursions to go hiking, biking or camping.
It can also be garden time! No garden? No problem!
The Children’s Garden at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Marion Andrus Learning Center in Chaska is designed for kids — with oodles of scientific and creative potential waiting to be discovered amongst the herbs, vegetables and flowers.
This summer, Green Bean Family Garden Time at the Arboretum will allow ages 5-11 — accompanied by an adult — to learn about gardening and outdoor topics on select Saturdays.
“Though most of the Arboretum’s day camps for kids sell out quickly in January, there’s still room for adults and kids to get in on this dynamic program where families choose one session or multiple sessions. Each week includes a theme:
- June 3 | Seed Party
- June 17 | Leaves Make Food
- July 8 | Dirt Detectives and Insect Investigators
- July 22 | Pollinators & Friends
- Aug. 5 | Garden Art
- Aug. 19 | Flower Extravaganza
- Sept. 9 | All About Veggies
- Sept. 23 | Fall Garden Harvest
Timing is flexible, so you can participate as your schedule allows at themed, staffed stations during a two-hour period, 9:30-11:30 a.m., for a do-at-your-own-pace experience.
Malia Brandt, Arboretum Youth Education Program Manager, said Green Bean Family Garden Time isn’t overly structured.
“This is a way for families to slow down, explore, connect and learn together in the gardens,” Brandt said. “It’s a creative way to get the kids out of the house and into nature on the weekend.”
As a boy, more than 20 years ago, Twin Cities resident John Wanner was one of the first participants in the original Children’s Garden program at the Arboretum. Today the father fondly recalls memories of spending time frolicking in the gardens with his brother, Bill.
In passing the tradition onto the next generation, John Wanner’s daughters have regularly attended Green Bean Family Garden Time at the Arb.
To this day, John Wanner is an enthusiastic home gardener and joyfully appreciates the connections the program gave him to the natural world.
“I give a lot of credit to the Arboretum for inspiring me,” he said.
Arboretum Educator Melinda Hooker said the Wanner family isn’t the only one that’s been enriched by the Arboretum’s Youth Education programming over the years.
“I was in the garden the other afternoon and some older teen girls ran into the Under the Oak play area and I heard one say, ‘This place is literally my childhood!’
“I get goosebumps just thinking about that,” Hooker said. “It is such a wonderful connection, — and it shows what amazing and long-standing resources Arboretum Youth Education and the Children’s Garden are for the community.”
Pricing for Green Bean Family Garden Time is $10 per child per session and includes all supplies and child admission to the Arboretum. Daily general admission tickets ($15 for ages 16 and up) are required for all accompanying family members who are not Arboretum members. Non-participating kids are free to tag along.
Brandt said there’s another perk of the programming at the learning gardens.
“It’s the only place at the Arboretum where you’re encouraged to actually dig into our gardens. Arboretum staff help your family spend quality time together with facilitated activities,” she said. “And kids get to make fun take-home projects to remember their visit to the Arboretum.”
After programming concludes, families are welcome to explore the Learning Center’s Green Play Yard, a 15,000-square-foot area made from natural materials separated into three age zones:
- The Preschool Area, for ages 3-5, includes a track for wheeled play, a stage and seating area, a larger playhouse with a play table and shelves, a fort-start area and more.
- The Infant Area, for ages 0-16 months, includes a crawl-along garden, a swing, pull-up stumps, a peek-a-boo wall and a bridge with tickling grasses.
- The Toddler Area, for ages 16-33 months, includes a rolling hill, a track for wheeled play, a vine tunnel, a wooded path, a hopping stump, a sand-play area, a playhouse, tea party corner and more.
And of course there’s the option to visit the entire 1,200-acre Arboretum, which includes a Three-Mile Drive, Three-Mile Walk, a Maze Garden, the Farm at the Arb, the Tashjian Bee & Pollinator Discovery Center and — in the Oswald Visitor Center — the Eatery at the Arboretum, the Gift & Garden Store, a conservatory and art galleries.
More Information! Green Bean Family Garden Time
What: Dig into nature as a family as you spend time together in the Learning Center’s backyard gardens and play yards this summer with ages 5-11 with at least one adult attending. All instruction and materials are provided and each week covers a different theme. Staffed activity stations are available for do-at-your-own-pace fun.
When: 9:30-11:30 a.m. select Saturday June 3 through Sept. 23 without a formal start time for family flexibility.
Where: The Marion Andrus Learning Center at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, 3675 Arboretum Dr, Chaska, MN 55318
How: Advance registration is required.
Who: Ages 5-11, but non-participating children are welcome.
Cost: $10 per child per session and includes all supplies and child admission to the Arboretum. Daily general admission tickets ($15 for ages 16 and up) are required for all accompanying family members who are not Arboretum members. Non-participating kids are free to tag along.
Info and registration: arb.umn.edu/learn/green-bean-family
Header Image: Green Bean Family Garden Time at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska features a different theme on select Saturdays June 3 through Sept. 23. Photo by Jason Boudreau-Landis
Sarah Jackson is a mother, a lifelong gardener and works as a media specialist at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska.
