Sure Sign Of Spring: Water Flows Again In The Morton Arboretum’s Children’s Garden

Fun And Adventures Are Enhanced With Water Features; Babies Make Appearances

LISLE, IL (April 21, 2006) – The Morton Arboretum’s new Children’s Garden has returned to its enchanting best – ready to spark new growth in plants and new growth in children’s curiosity about the natural world. After a winter hiatus, the water is flowing again into the Children’s Garden – allowing kids to enjoy the garden fully and learn from its unique experiences.

The Children’s Garden is open all year, but with the water now back on, children can once again splash around in the Secret Stream which feeds into Wonder Pond. That’s where families can search for animals and plants living in or near the pond. Our staff recently found a baby turtle along Tree Finder Grove. Named “Scuter” for the scales on a turtle’s shell, this hatchling is just over an-inch long. Its species, a painted turtle, is the state’s reptile.

In the Curiosity Garden, children often stare and marvel at a very unique fountain, the “deer chaser.” It’s actually a series of bamboo reeds on hinges. As one reed fills with water, it eventually topples over and begins filling the next reed below. This is one of the garden’s many multi-sensory devices that teach children about sounds in nature.

Kids can also make a frog spit, learn what happens when seeds float, and spin a giant, one-ton granite ball as if by magic! The ball contains images of leaves, which kids and their parents can match up to a series of leaf patterns etched into the surrounding sidewalk. Each pattern also provides the name of the tree species.

The Children’s Garden also features activities to teach children about the products we get from trees, and how looking at a trunk gives clues to a tree’s age.

While families learn and play in the garden, they also admire its beauty. Parents often use the labeled plants in the Children’s Garden as a “home demonstration garden,” allowing them to get garden design ideas and select specific plants that would be suitable for their garden at home.

The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized 1,700-acre outdoor museum with collections of more than 3,700 kinds of trees, shrubs, and other plants from around the world. The Arboretum's beautiful natural landscapes, gardens, research and education programs, and year-round family activities support its mission – the planting and conservation of trees and other plants for a greener, healthier, and more beautiful world. Conveniently located at I-88 and Rte. 53 in Lisle, Illinois, the Arboretum is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (CDT) and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CST). The Children's Garden is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (CDT) and 9:30 to 4 p.m. (CST). Visit www.mortonarb.org or call 630/968-0074 to learn more.

Media Contact:    Gina Tedesco, 630-725-2103, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Marty Cusack, 630-719-5768, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it