Missouri Botanical Garden554

The winner of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best eco-friendly place for families in St. Louis, the Missouri Botanical Garden features countless thematic sections filled with unique and colorful foliage, flora, and, yes, even fauna.

The 14-acre Japanese Garden - the largest Japanese strolling garden in the Western hemisphere - is a tranquil retreat, with waterfalls, streams, water-filled basins, and stone lanterns.

The Climatron®, a conservatory housed under a geodesic dome, is great fun, feeling and sounding like a tropical rainforest. Kids love trying to spot the variety of animals that live here, including tropical birds.

Near the Climatron is the very amazing, very imaginative Doris I. Schnuck Children's Garden, a two-acre site that features a limestone cave, rope bridges, Spelunker's Slide, a wetland ecosystem, a replica steamboat, a giant tree house, "root" swings attached to a fabricated tree, a Midwestern prairie village complete with a jail, and fountains perfect for waterplay (bring swimsuits for the little ones!).

Birthday parties can be scheduled here between April and October; the cost is $200/party for up to 24 children (ages 3-12) and five adult chaperones.

Great Green Adventures, a drop-in program for families, features nature-themed activities in the Children's Garden. It typically takes place year 'round on the third Saturday of every month at 10:30am and 1:30pm; $3 per child.

MOBOT offers all kinds of workshops and classes for youth, as well as multi-day summer day camps for kids ages four to 11. Check the website for a complete schedule!