Learning Activities in the "Kids' Corner" of the Linnaeus Visitors' Barn

Girls enjoy the activities of a butterfly in the garden.

On the two potting tables on the east wall in the Linnaeus Garden Visitors' Barn you will discover various garden activities to share with children. Featured on the north table are books, notes and things to do for younger children. The Activity Basket, on the south table, is filled with laminated sheets and dry erase markers to take out into the garden. Often experiments are displayed there as well.

Each month a topic is explored with complementing activities.

• March: Soil
• April: Weather and Season’s effects on the Garden
• May: Light in the Garden
• June: Colors, Shapes, and Numbers in the Garden
• July: Insects in the Garden
• August: Flowers in the Garden
• September: Animals in the Garden
• October: Leaves
• November: Carl Linnaeus

Laminated activity sheets encourage you and your child to:

• LOOK! Decide on garden to learn about: Entry, Boulder, Water, Greenhouse, Vegetable, Herb or Fountain
• EXPLORE! take the laminated sheet outside to the chosen garden.
• DISCOVER! Complete the suggested activities.
• AT HOME! Consider doing the home project; return the laminated sheet to the basket.

Little Green Thumbs

Little Green Thumbs plant vegetables in May.

This program is held every third Saturday April through September. Little Green Thumbs (ages 4 – 11 years) offers fun gardening projects for children. These sessions are taught by Linnaeus Gardeners and Tulsa Garden Center volunteers.

Sessions usually begin with the participants planting vegetables and herbs in their own Children’s Garden.

Programs offered throughout the session include such things as making Seed Terrariums, learning about Butterfly Gardens, Bird Houses and Bat Houses, planting Sunflowers, and building a Garden TeePee. The children learn about Wiggly Worms and Compost, how to Garden in a Bucket, create Flower Pot Wind Chimes, and make Veggie and Leaf Prints. We celebrate the end of the session by harvesting their own plants from the Children's Garden. Participants receive a Little Green Thumb Certificate.

For dates, cost, and registration information, click here.

Youth Groups in the Garden

Daisy Scouts release Lady Bugs in the garden.

Members of the Children’s Committee enjoy hosting youth groups such as Daisy Girl Scouts. A typical day includes fifteen minute rotations that take the youths through various activity stations.

At the Seed Station they sing, talk about plant parts and seeds, and plant a pumpkin. At the Herb Garden they learn how Indians got medicine from plants. They get their own medicine bags to fill and eat a cookie with Stevia, a herb used for sweetening.

At the Compost Station they learn about composting and vermiculture or worm composting. The Pond Station teaches them about evaporation and precipitation.

When they visit the Lady Bug Station, they learn about the stages of a Lady Bug’s life. Then they release hundreds of lady bugs in the garden.

Have your youth organization contact the Tulsa Garden Center at 918-746-5125 to schedule an activity such as this in the Linnaeus Garden.

Story Time in the Garden

Children enjoy story time in the garden.

Story Time will be held for children pre-school through second grade 10 AM every Thursday in June, July, and August in the Out Door Classroom just behind the statue of Carl Linnaeus.

Picture books with garden themes will be read followed by an activity in the Linnaeus Garden.

Story Time is free to the public.

Check our Upcoming Events Calendar for dates and topics.

Children's Garden

Colorful tiles and a trellis made the first Children's Garden a delight.

The first children’s garden was a space at the Linnaeus Teaching Garden, a place they could dig in the earth, plant seeds, and come back later to see how the plants were growing. This garden had bright tiles, a trellis, and leafy vegetation. The children in the Little Green Thumbs program planted herbs, melons, and more in the spring and harvested the fruits and vegetables in the fall.

Because the Linnaeus Garden is acquiring new property and making other changes, the Children’s garden is in transition. But we will have one. The first planting is in April each year with the Little Green Thumbs program.

Children's Tours

Children take a guided tour of the Linnaeus Vegetable Garden.

Linnaeus Garden Volunteers love to show off our garden. We are available to give tours to school groups, scouts, and other children's groups.

If you are interested in arranging a tour for your Children’s group, contact our Volunteer Coordinator on 918-746-5136 or 918-746-5125 at the Tulsa Garden Center. She will arrange a tour guide and time for your group.