Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis City

Location: 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63110

Hours: The Garden is open Tuesdays–Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last entry at 4:30 p.m.).

Website: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org

The Children's Garden has 4 paths, 2 of which are wheelchair/stroller accessible. There is also space to park strollers around the waterfall and pool just inside the entrance, as well as near the Splash area. The Children's Garden includes a cave, treehouse, rope bridge, secret garden with musical instruments, Midwestern prairie village, steamboat, Osage camp, and more. Many kids love to get soaked in the Splash area, so you may want to bring a swimsuit and towel. If kids and adults get separated, there is a meeting place at the entrance, right next to the ticket booth. Restrooms, drinking fountains, beverage vending machines, and hydration stations (to fill water bottles) are located near the Gazebo/Splash area, as well as in the Brookings Interpretive Center, just outside the Children's Garden entrance.

                                             

Cute photo ops near the Children's Garden entrance

                             

Entrances to the 4 Paths - Children's Garden

Waterfall just inside the entrance of the Children's Garden 

                                         


                                             

Rope Bridge - Discover's Path - Children's Garden

Splash Area - Settler's Path - Children's Garden

                                       
                                          

                                                                                                                   

                                 

                                           

Tree Trunk Pavilion and Paths - Children's Garden

Frontier's Fort - Adventurer's Path - Children's Garden

So much fun playing in the big "tree house"

The Brookings Interpretive Center hosts interactive, themed exhibits inside a staffed building. The Climatron, adjacent to the Brookings Interpretive Center, is also stroller-accessible and hosts a variety of beautiful and interesting plants. Unfortunately due to Covid, they've taken out almost everything in here but there are still some books. 

Before Covid

 

And now

The Koi Fish Feeding Bridge, located in the Japanese Garden, is a favorite for kids and adults alike. Ducks and geese come close to catching their share, too. For a closer look, there's a footpath next to the bridge that leads down to the water. You can buy a small handful of loose pellets for $0.25 from a dispenser at the bridge, but the gift shop at the main entrance also sells a larger quantity in a bag. (See photo.) With the adults doling it out, our family of 4 went through 2 bags as well as a handful purchased from the dispenser in about 10-15 minutes. There are bathrooms, a drinking fountain, a beverage vending machine, and a hydration station in the vicinity of the bridge, as well.

Koi Fish Feeding Bridge - Japanese Garden

If you ever get the chance to tour Tea House Island do it! It's hard to get tickets though, they go on sale during the Japanese Festival every year and you have to get there early to get in line. They only allow 20 people per hour to go on the tour and there are 8 tours a day for 3 days out of the year. That's only 160 people per year that get to see it.  I was thrilled to be able to tour it as it had been on my bucket list for years!

The Japanese Garden is so beautiful and serene

The tea house was a gift from Japan to us in 1977, and it's very fragile. That's why the general public isn't allowed to see it. It's surrounded by bamboo so it can't be seen from the outside. 

This campus is 79 acres and includes paths with various degrees of sloping. The staff in the Visitor Center at the main entrance has information regarding which paths have steep vs. gradual inclines.

A tram is also available April through October, for an additional fee of $5/person. It runs hourly on weekdays and every 40 minutes on weekends, beginning just outside the Visitor Center and stopping at the Center for Home Gardening, Japanese Garden, Tower Grove House, and returning to the Visitor Center. Strollers are allowed on the tram if they will fit in the available space. The tram is great if you want to hear all about what you're seeing, they talk about the history of all the buildings and plants. 

Pick up a map on your way in to help you locate restrooms and drinking fountains scattered throughout the gardens. Dining is also available, with kid-friendly menu options. Picnicking and coolers are prohibited, but they don't search bags for small snacks. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own water bottles and be responsible about sun exposure.

This area of the children's garden is always a hit with kids. There are boats and dam gates that can be manipulated. 

Grocery store

Nature classroom! This area was added in 2007.  From a press release, "Developed in response to the growing disconnect between children and nature, Nature Explore Classrooms are designed to help fill the void by educating young children using research-based principles for integrating nature into their daily learning. These Classrooms offer interactive elements - including climbing structures, musical instruments made of natural materials, wooden blocks, small waterways, and natural materials for building and creating art - that give children important and inspiring nature experiences. While connecting children with nature, such unstructured play and activities are shown to enhance concentration, develop creativity and problem-solving, relieve stress, and improve skills in many areas. Outdoor classrooms that are designed according to principles described in the Foundation's Learning With Nature Idea Book are eligible to become certified Nature Explore Classrooms. The Missouri Botanical Garden's space is one of the first among a growing network of certified classrooms that will be able to share best practices and ideas through an online forum.

The Missouri Botanical Garden's 3,000 sq. ft. Nature Explore Classroom is located at the south end of the Doris I. Schnuck Children's Garden: A Missouri Adventure, an area of the Botanical Garden especially focused on introducing children at their most impressionable age to the significance of plants and nature in fun and innovative ways. In the new Classroom, children can create visual masterpieces in a nature art area, climb and crawl on structures, build with natural materials, and practice their balance, agility, and creativity in areas designed for music and movement."

Climbing area

Huge sandbox

Building area

Music & movement area

So great that they have a calming corner!

Gift shop

The rose garden

Inside the Climatron

Overall this is a fabulous place to explore with your kids! There's so much history here and many things to do. They have great events throughout the year including the Japanese Festival, Whitaker Music Festival, Chinese culture days, and of course the Garden Glow.