
Give your kids a truly international experience at Chinese Culture Days at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Become immersed in traditional Chinese arts, music, culture and cuisine at the Garden on Saturday and Sunday, May 15 and 16.
You may want to arrive by 11 a.m. on Saturday for a grand parade led by a dazzling 70-foot, 24-legged dragon winding through the crowd (this is meant to dispel bad luck and evil spirits). Traditional martial artists, lion dancers, gongs and drums follow to welcome good luck for the Year of the Tiger. The parade will be repeated again at 2 p.m. both days.
Other activities include guided tours of the Grigg Nanjing Friendship Garden, also known as the Chinese Garden, lessons in the ancient martial art of T’ai Ji, tea tastings and traditional Chinese music.
Chinese Culture Days runs from until 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $5 for children (ages 3 to 12) and Garden members.
By Amy Burger, Events Blogger for SmartParenting
Amy Burger is a mom, freelance writer and communications professional with nearly 20 years experience working in St. Louis. Her work has appeared in numerous publications and media outlets including STL Parent, Missouri Life magazine, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Town & Style and kdhx.org, among others. When she's not working, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two beautiful girls at home in Kirkwood.
At this free art program for ages 3-6 the focus is on the process of making art rather than the finished product. Dress to get messy!
Discovery Club is an exploration of all kinds of science! Kids ages 7-11 will navigate through the sciences with projects, experiments and activities at this free program. Themes include robots, roller coasters, potato batteries and more.
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.
The Gateway to Reading program is a parent-child workshop that focuses on strengthening reading skills while engaging in fun, literacy-based activities. Participants will receive a free toolkit of materials to help children in their reading journey.