Monarch butterflies are headed south for the winter, and the National Park Service and the city of St. Louis are celebrating the journey with the Great MonArch Migration event. Pollinator experts from the Missouri Botanical Garden, Saint Louis Zoo, and the Missouri Department of Conservation will lead monarch-themed activities, like making milkweed seed balls and insect hotels, and will share monarch gardening tips.
Activities will take place in front of the new west entrance to the Gateway Arch as well as inside the Arch Visitors Center. Free refreshments, native plants and seed packets will be available while supplies last.
It's also the National Park Service Fee Free Day, in which the entrance fee to all NPS sites is waived. Visitors to the Gateway Arch can enjoy $3 off their adult tram ride ticket or documentary movie that day.
Saturday, September 29 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Gateway Arch.
More information: gatewayarch.com
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.
Wagon rides, live entertainment, great festival foods, a petting zoo and much more make this an apple pickin' good time for the whole family. There will be pony rides, a children's carnival, opportunities to feed goats and other farm animals, caramel apples, funnel cakes and more.
Families are invited to the Saint Louis Art Museum on Sunday afternoon to participate in free hands-on art activities with fun themes and to explore the galleries. Each Family Sunday focuses on a different family-friendly theme.
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.
Sensory Friendly Science Time features reduced noise, modified lighting and sensory-friendly demonstrations at the Saint Louis Science Center.