Come Explore the New Indoor Children's Garden—Now Open!

Some amazing creatures have moved into the neighborhood at Longwood Gardens!

The new Indoor Children's Garden will delight young and old with one-of-a-kind artisan elements, an amazing palette of plants to discover and fun encounters around every corner.

Longwood's new Indoor Children's Garden provides a safe and engaging space where children can be surrounded by plants and discover the joys of being in a garden. See a listing of plants used in the Indoor Children's Garden.

The Indoor Children's Garden features:

  • The Central Cove, with a tree-covered seating area, a central pool with flower-shaped water jets and jewel-like mosaics, and three animal adorned sculptures shooting streams of water from overhead into the pool. Children will move from the Central Cove into the Rain Pavilion, which features water curtains on two sides. Look up and you will see the glass ceiling allowing a view of water running overhead.
  • The Secret Room is home to the Drooling Dragon water feature, and a balcony that overlooks the Central Cove.

  • The Ramp, accented by an ever-changing Water Curtain and animated by the leaping water “glow worm,” leads children to a Tower overlooking the Bamboo Maze. Water runs down the glow worm into a swallowing salamander at the bottom of the ramp.
  • The Grotto Cave, underneath the Tower, contains a shallow fog-covered pool activated by water dripping from sculpted snakes coiled overhead.

  • The Bamboo Maze offers a jungle of tree-size bamboos for children to explore. The Maze contains five visitor-activated water features accented with ornate bird sculptures.






    • The garden is handicap accessible. A surrounding walkway allows “grown” children to enjoy the garden as well as keep an eye on the action. With 17 fountains in the garden to enjoy, children will want to splash and play, so an extra shirt or small towel might come in handy.

    Garden Railway

    September 7–November 22

    See the Brandywine Valley in miniature form in the Idea Garden! Visitors of all ages will enjoy watching the train travel past Longwood landmarks made from natural elements.

    NEW Kids' Garden Adventure

    Mondays and Thursdays at 10:00 am

    Join us for a one hour program that introduces children to the wonders of a garden through story, crafts and garden exploration. For children ages 3-5.


    Find out more »

    The Buds and the Bees

    Pollination and the Secret Lives of Plants (through November 22)

    Join us for our year-long changing exhibit, which delves into the sights, sounds and science of pollination.


    Find out more »

    Meet the Sugar Plum Fairy

    Saturday, November 28; 3:00–5:00 pm

    Pennsylvania Ballet's Sugarplum Fairy greets young guests. Be sure to bring your camera to snap a picture with this favorite friend from George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.

    Ice Skating Spectacular

    November 26–January 10

    Enjoy ice skating performances featuring an array of up-and-coming talents, professional skaters and Olympians in a fairy-tale setting.


    Find out more and buy tickets online »