Brookside Gardens453

I've been taking my son to Brookside Gardens since he was very young. it is a beautiful and well maintained public display garden. The staff are very knowledgable and helpful, the programming is great for kids from ages 5-12 yrs of age. They offer everything from art in the gardens, to this great camp about butterflies. Speaking of which, you have to see these amazing butterflies. Hundreds in flight each time we went. They have Asian, Costa Rican, and North American species. My son loved learning about the lifecycle of the butterfly. We always go to the concerts Tuesday evenings in June. It's great family fun listening to music while the kids run around in the grass. This past winter, we went to their Garden of Lights winter walk-through light display. I can't believe the effect of walking through over 700,000 twinkling colorful lights all shaped like the seasons, animals, flowers, fountains. Wow! it is a new family tradition. We tell everyone to go.

This is a gorgeous park with lots of open air space for the kids to walk/skip around in. The ponds offer views of turtles and geese (sometimes ducks too). The Nature Center is a GREAT place for kids, with viewing tanks of turtles, fish, frogs, and snakes. The entrance has a really great zigzagging ramp most young kids love to run up. This park also offers many programs specifically for the younger crowd of kid. The Butterfly Exhibit is annual and amazing. It is very important that you can keep a close eye on your kids there, however, as the butterflies are a bit fragile, some of the larger ones can scare some of the preschool crowd, and, understandably!, neither the butterflies nor the staff take it well if your kid reacts by trying to stomp on them! The previous commenter gave an excellent overview. However, please do NOT bring battery-operated fans to the exhibit. I doubt they would be permitted, and fear that they could hurt the butterflies. (Although, perhaps I'm way off here. I would call first before bringing one.) Brookside also offers free family concerts early in the evening during the summertime. Great fun! Oh, and Brookside is adjacent/connected via a fence/gateway to Wheaton Regional Park, which sports awesome playgrounds, a carousel, and a mini train, along with a plentitude of picnicing spaces. This park Brookside/Wheaton Regional is rich with stimulating options for families and kids.

Just took a ride today to see the butterflies at Brookside Gardens. There are a few different entrances, so don't take the first, take the second for better parking near the restrooms, admission desk & gift shop. Restrooms extremely clean, everyone who worked there seemed genuinely happy to be there and help. They all appeared to love what they do which was so refreshing! I was also impressed of the knowledge of the workers, they knew every butterfly and kept my preschooler entertained for 10 minutes, letting her hold a real butterfly from the display, explaining the lifecycle of a caterpillar to butterfly, their diet, etc... It was a very warm day outside and when you go into the butterfly room, it is extremely humid and even warmer! If you have a handheld fan, bring it! You can even get the cute battery hand-held ones at the dollar store. Take your camera! Both the butterfly room and the grounds area amazing. One couple was taking photos for their wedding today and I could see why! Reflecting pools, and ponds full of turtles, large fish, and frogs for your little ones to enjoy. We even saw a hummingbird enjoying a flower's nectar. We got there at almost 11 and left by 1. I would recommend getting there by 10 if you have little ones that still nap and you will feel as if you've done plenty by noon. Kids under two are free but you cannot bring strollers to some of the exhibits. So a baby bjorn, backpack or if your toddler can walk on their own, it won't be so bad on your back. Don't forget to take a picture on one of the wrought iron butterfly benches!