Hershey Children's Garden

A wonderland for children and their families
"Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, waterbugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, brooks to wade, water lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine-cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries and hornets, and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of education."
-- Horticulturist Luther Burbank
The first public children's garden in Ohio and one of the few of its kind anywhere, Hershey Children's Garden is a child's fantasy come true.
With its scrounger garden, cave, dwarf forests, worm bins, wheelchair-accessible tree house and sensory-filled herb garden, Hershey Children's Garden is an exciting and enlightening destination. It's a one-of-a-kind place where children are sure to meet a nibbling fish, a lazy daisy or a sunny sunflower.
Among the many highlights, children will love the maze, the prairie sod roof on the cottage, the butterfly shelters, native wildflower meadow, fruit and berry garden, and big red "farmhouse" pumps.
Kids can also meet up with the delightful pony statue, Cotton Candy. Some people say that if you whisper your wish in Cotton Candy's ear, it will come true.
Of course, no visit to Hershey Children's Garden is complete without climbing into the tree house. Two immense tulip poplars shelter this playful hideaway from which kids can peer out at the magical surroundings below.
Popular warm weather daily drop-in activities include:
April and May Wednesday Nature Tales Story Time
April Saturdays and Sunday Plant a Truffula Tree
May Saturdays and Sunday May Day Baskets
June
- Mud Pie Tuesdays, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
- Nature Tales Story Time Wednesdays, 11:00 am
- Citizen Science Thursdays, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
- Crafty Fridays, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
- Saturday and Sunday Fairy Houses, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
July
- Mud Pie Tuesdays, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
- Nature Tales Story Time Wednesdays, 11:00 am
- Citizen Science Thursdays, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
- Crafty Fridays, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
- Saturday and Sunday Fishing Poles, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
August
- Mud Pie Tuesdays, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
- Nature Tales Story Time Wednesdays, 11:00 am
- Citizen Science Thursdays, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
- Crafty Fridays, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
- Saturday and Sunday Veggie Part Puzzles, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
< Back to Collection Gardens