Follow the yellow brick room into a land of enchantment & make-believe where little pirates can sail the high seas on The Pirate Queen, fairies can have tea in fairyland & kids can climb towards the clouds in our tree fort!  The Woodland Cafe waits in Hobbitville for kids to create mud pies or mud cakes, the rain forest beckons kids to run through the cool mist & our costume room welcomes kids to dress up for creative fun! We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and public charitable organization and rely on admission and donations to support our mission, which is to keep kids connected to nature.  We do so through fostering imaginative play as well as offering weekly nature and art programs for children.  We hope to see you soon!
Hours of operation
Tuesday through Sunday: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Closed Mondays

The Children's Garden is closed from September 2nd through September 16th for annual maintenance and repairs. Thank you for your understanding - We look forward to seeing you in the fall!
Admission
Adults and Teens 13 years & up: $10 +tax
Seniors 60+years and Military: $9+tax
Children 3 years & up: $6 +tax
Infants and toddlers 2 & under visit for free!
Check out our upcoming nature, gardening, and art programs below, or click on the Calendar button to view all of our events coming up in the next month and keep your kids connected to nature. Each class is designed for kids of all ages! Please note, all classes are parent supervised. 
  • ​Tuesday, September 17th, 11am Welcome to Autumn! Fall is coming, and so we are learning about Fall Fairies and building fairy houses with our pretty autumn nature finds.
  • Thursday, September 19th, 11am Talk like a Pirate Day! An annual tradition at the Children’s Garden, this morning is all about pirates! Learn all the pirate lingo and find your way to treasure with a maze activity page. 
  • Tuesday, September 24th, 11am Grow-Along Storytime Once, there were two mice who thought they each found the perfect pumpkin… Join us at the stage at 11am sharp to learn what happens next! After the story, we’ll plant pumpkin seeds to bring home and grow.

Our Newsletter for September is Now Available!

september_2024_the_dirt_newsletter.pdf
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Birthday Parties at The Garden 

Want to make your next celebration magical?  The Garden is completely outdoors with lots of room for your party of up to 30 guests.  To make your party even more special, check out our Crafts-to-Go, unique and whimsical crafts & activities where we handle 100% of the prep! 

For more information on parties, visit our page here.
We have been included in the most recent article on the best field trip locations to visit in Florida by the international educational publisher Twinkl! 
​(You can learn more about field trips at The Children's Garden here)
Program ​Events: 
  • ​Nature Art Programs
Perfect for all age children!  From our "Sticks & Stones" program to our "Art Rocks" program and our "Wild crafting" program, kids will have fun creating their works of nature art!
  • ​Learn the Magic of Gardening in our Planting Programs! 
    We love getting our hands dirty and learning about our fruits & veggies.  Join us for one of our many gardening program like "Mama Mia We Are Making Our Own Pizza Garden", "Can You Dig It" & our "Munch Crunch Grow Your Own Lunch" gardening programs!  
Have you heard about our little plant nursery called Frog Fruit Farms? Now for Sale - your favorite plants from the garden and more! Pink Ball Dombeya that's ready to bloom, rooted fig trees in pots, succulents, bromeliads and more! Get a gift certificate today to buy plants, or use in our giftshop and admission! All sales support our nonprofit mission, "Keeping kids connected to nature!" Thank you!

The Children's Garden & Art Center is where the magic and fun begins!
Explore! Imagine! Make-Believe!

Just like "Alice", kids and adults alike will feel as if they have fallen down a rabbit's hole to "Wonderland"! Magic begins at the yellow brick road where entering the jasmine covered tunnel "The Black Pearl" awaits for little pirates to set sail, the Amazing Maze turns and twists down paths of intrigue and the Fairy Garden welcomes all fairies and elves for tea under the mushrooms.
Down the winding path you will find the Monster Garden where our giant green dragon "Snuffy" resides with her other fun & unusual monster friends.
 The 3 little pigs dare any big bad wolf to blow their houses down in our Butterfly Garden. Next door is our Caterpillar Cottage which hosts lots of birthday parties and celebrations with it's "Snow White" theme and twinkling lights.
Nature, gardening and art classes are taught weekly at the garden to nurture and teach children the beauty in Mother Nature. Whether it is our "Art Rocks" class, our "Munch Crunch Grow Your Lunch" class or our "Nature Explorers" class to name a few, our mission is to keep kids connected to nature at The Children's Garden & Art Center.
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The Children's Garden was created in 2003 by Joan Marie Condon who wanted a special place for children to come and leave the electronic world behind and discover new adventures in the natural world.  Together with her husband David, artisan sons Ray and Roy and daughter Robin Fulk, The Children's Garden is a small piece of wonder, a place for creative play and to find magic in Mother Nature.
 The Children's Garden & Art Center became a non-profit 501 C (3) and public charitable organization in the fall of 2009. We do yearly fundraisers for "All Faith's Food Bank", the "Humane Society of Sarasota" and "Make-A-Wish Foundation". Our wish is to continue our education classes in hopes of teaching  our children to become good stewards of the earth. Help support this safe haven for children of all ages!