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
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, March 18th through Friday, March 21st Spring Break Story Week at the Children’s Garden!
  • Saturday March 22nd, 10am Grumpy Greyson Needs a Tooth Fairy! Join us for a special fundraiser to help our beloved (but grumpy) cat, Greyson, get the dental care he needs! 
  • Thursday, March 27th, 11am Hungry Harry Today is all about our cute & wet friend, the frog! Come to the stage at 11am and listen along before making your own  little puppet frog craft.
  • Saturday, April 5th, 2:30pm Magical Butterflies! Join us for an enchanting afternoon with a butterfly story, crafts,  and a monarch butterfly release in the garden with Ruth Frushour.
Spring Break Story Week at the Children’s Garden!
Spring into a good book this week! Join us at the stage at 11am SHARP each day for  story time, and enjoy a coloring activity along with each day’s tale.
  • Tuesday, March 18th, 11am Pirate Pete When Pirate Pete hears the Queen has discovered a treasure map, he must have it. With the map in hand, Pete and his parrot hit the high seas.
  • Wednesday, March 19th, 11am The Bug Hunt Winnie the Pooh and his friends split into teams and learn the power of working together while in pursuit of some insect friends.
  • Thursday, March 20th, 11am Snuffy the Beautiful Dragon Learn the origin story of our beloved Snuffy the Dragon, by listening to a story written by the founder of the Children’s Garden, Joan Marie Condon.
  • Friday, March 21st, 11am Fairy Houses What would happen if you built a house for the fairies to live in? Would they come to visit? Listen to today’s story to learn how to build your own fairy house.
Summer Camp 2025 at the Children's Garden - Now FULL (Waitlist Only)
Embark on a week of nature-filled adventures at our Summer Camp! Designed for children aged 5 to 10, our programs ignite imagination, foster creativity, and celebrate the magic of make-believe. 
Grumpy Greyson's Tooth Fairy Fundraiser!
Grumpy Greyson may not be the friendliest shop cat, but he’s part of the Sarasota Children’s Garden family all the same. He takes his job of supervising the gift shop very seriously (mostly by lounging around and giving disapproving looks to anyone who disturbs his nap.)

Unfortunately, Greyson is dealing with several teeth that need to be removed. Left untreated, dental disease can cause serious infections and affect his overall health. The procedure and follow-up care will cost around $1,000 at the Rose Durham Cat Depot Clinic, and we need your help to get him the treatment he needs! Every donation—big or small—goes directly toward covering his medical expenses. 

Join us on March 22nd at 10 AM for a special fundraiser to help our beloved Greyson get the dental care he needs! To show Greyson some love, we will decorate our own Tooth Fairy Wand with markers and ribbons! At 10:30 AM, we’ll all gather at the stage for a story about the Tooth Fairy herself. For a treat, enjoy a mini cupcake and take home a little kitty keepsake as a thank-you! This event is included with admission & free for Garden members. Our Facebook event page can be found here!
Donate through our Zeffy Fundraiser page today and be Greyson’s Tooth Fairy!
Annual Easter Egg Hunt!
Saturday, April 19th at 10am sharp
Hippity Hop Down the Bunny Trail to find your Easter Eggs! Each child can collect 12 eggs filled with sweets to bring home - Some eggs even have a ticket inside for a special prize. Be sure to say hello to "somebunny" very special - the Easter Bunny!  Meet and greet with opportunity for photos is included with the event price. The doors will open at 9:45am - The Hunt begins at 10am and lasts until the eggs have been collected.

Tickets must be purchased in advance to guarantee entry to the egg hunt.  Tickets are available for sale in person at the gift shop or online through our website.  Admission  is included with the cost of the Egg Hunt.  All kids participating in the egg hunt are required to pay for admission.
Our March Newsletter is now available!
march_2025_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!