Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden

About the Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden

The original Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden opened in 1993, as the first garden in the United States developed specifically for the education of young children on a university campus. The Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year and is nationally recognized for its innovative use of technology.

Today, the Michigan 4-H Children’s Garden has grown to include:

  • The original 4-H Children’s Garden featuring 66 themed gardens developed on ½ acre as a part of the Michigan State University Horticulture Gardens;
  • The Smith Schoolyard Demonstration Garden, a companion outdoor garden with 23 themed gardens dedicated to demonstrating science-based learning and education with specific emphasis on pre-K to fifth grade learning themes;
  • The Garden Greenhouse Classroom (formerly the Indoor 4-H Children’s Garden) is a flexible space, functions as a classroom, greenhouse and also houses the Butterflies in the Garden exhibit each spring;
  • Curiosity Classroom, an interactive, technology-based classroom to support the garden’s scientific learning methods.

Michigan 4-H Children’s Gardens mission:

  • To promote an understanding of plants and the role they play in our daily lives,
  • To nurture the wonder in a child’s imagination and curiosity,
  • To provide a place of enrichment and delight for children of all ages.
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