VARIED PLAY SPACES AND VIGNETTES THROUGHOUT OSU’S BOTANIC GARDEN OFFER MUCH TO EXPLORE.
The Oklahoma State University Botanic Garden
While our usual destination when we visit Stillwater is a football or basketball game (Go Cowboys!), the Botanic Garden at OSU has emerged as a new favorite stop. Tucked away off Highway 51, this 100-acre secret garden offers meandering walking trails (which are wide and stroller-friendly) and an abundance of open, shady areas for picnicking, playing games and just running wild. Both my master gardener and grandma instincts lead me to spend time in nature with my three wild wonders, pointing out plants, flowers and insects and listening with care as they discover the great outdoors. Botanic Garden volunteer director Laura Payne emphasizes the ever-growing importance of connecting children with nature, describing the garden as “more like a living museum than a park.” She goes on to reflect: “If kids sit back and quietly watch, they may observe [non-poisonous] snakes, frogs and lizards crawling through the gardens.”
Vignettes throughout the gardens offered my grandchildren a variety of places and plants to examine. The children’s play area features an inviting playhouse and tree swing nestled in the shade. Bluebird houses with squawking mama birds and containers of a variety of herbs to smell gave us pause and prompted conversation. New to the gardens and encouraging creative play is the Tree Walk Village, highlighted by a swinging rope bridge. Our grandchildren were fascinated with the chicken moat, watching colorful, clucking hens scampering about within an enclosed area. The kids were intrigued to learn the chickens’ waste provides nitrogen-rich fertilizer for the gardens! The spring and summer months boast beautiful floral displays while fall highlights the best of foliage as the trees turn every hue of red, orange and yellow.
The Botanic Garden is host to countless free and seasonal events, including an herb festival, yoga in the gardens, Friday night concerts and open houses. On the first and third Saturdays of the month, from 10 a.m. to noon, children can enjoy varied activities in the Model Train Garden, which features a running train. The last Saturday in September is typically reserved for the mum sale and garden fest. Social distancing and wearing masks are encouraged. (3300 W 6th St, Stillwater; botanicgarden.okstate.edu) While in Stillwater, a trip to the original Hideaway Pizza or a stop for cheese fries at Eskimo Joe’s is always in order! Other favorite attractions for grandparents and grandkids to enjoy together are the National Wrestling Hall of Fame (405 W Hall of Fame, Stillwater; nwhof.org) and Lost Creek Safari (1200 W 8th St; lostcreeksafari.com), an exotic animal park.
94 METROFAMILYMAGAZINE.COM / EVERYTHING GUIDE 2020-2021
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