The Best of Missouri Market at the Missouri Botanical Garden features more than 150 vendors offering handcrafted items, locally produced food, native plants, herbs, live music and local brews, plus a two-acre Kid's Corner with farm animals (like llamas, alpacas and sheep!), circus performers, face painting, crafts, and a pumpkin patch with decorating let by Perennial.
Celebrating the history, culture, and people of Japan, the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the largest and oldest festivals of its kind in the United States. Your family can enjoy guided walking tours, bonsai, cooking, martial arts and origami demonstrations, sumo wrestling, and special activities for kids.
Take your family to watch birds of prey fly right over your head, meet the wonderful bird ambassadors of the World Bird Sanctuary up close and much more.
Celebrate eagles from around the world at World Eagle Day. Learn more about these majestic creatures as well as fun raptor facts with presentations from World Bird Sanctuary naturalists throughout the day.
Bring your little ones to enjoy a nature adventure. They'll learn that all animals have special characteristics that help them to thrive in their habitats.
A St. Louis family favorite – the Children's Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden – will close for the season on November 1-2, and children are invited to have an adventure exploring all the Garden has to offer before the gates close.
Come over to the dark side and meet the amazing birds that exist by moonlight. Owl Prowls are an opportunity for families to learn about owls from the naturalists at the World Bird Sanctuary.
Join in on First Art, a free art program for toddlers where the focus is on the process of making art rather than the finished product. Dress to get messy!
Explore the Saint Louis Zoo in the evenings at the Chinese lantern festival Animals Aglow! Animals Aglow returns to illuminate the Saint Louis Zoo for the second year with dozens of new, towering lanterns and light displays.
Visit The Magic House for Toddler Time, a special early-morning program for toddlers. Children age 1-4 can take part in exhibits and exclusive interactive activities designed just for little ones. There are new themes every week!
Open Gym at Miss Kelly's Gym is an opportunity for any child to have supervised free play in the gym. They can work on existing skills, try something new, or simply play around. It is completely up to them! Open Gym is open to both members and non-members ages 12 and under.
See the Zoo's California sea lions perform acrobatic and athletic feats, including Olympic-style dives on a high-diving platform, flipper walks, frisbee tosses and plenty of surprises. While on stage with the sea lions, the Zoo's trainers explain sea lion behavior and positive-reinforcement training, in addition to the need for conserving the sea lion's ocean habitat.