Camden Children’s Garden

The Experience

Explore the natural world at this four-acre interactive garden, with varied themes including a Dinosaur Garden, Storybook Gardens, Tree House and Picnic Garden. You might try one of the seasonal shows in the Piney Woods Amphitheatre, then hop on the Commerce Carousel, Arrow River Train or Spring Butterfly ride. Or, when the weather’s warm, you may just choose to splash around in the Violet Plaza Fountain.

Educational exhibits include the Four Seasons Butterfly House, Plaza de Aibonito Tropical Exhibit and Benjamin Franklin’s Secret Garden.

Extend your adventure by taking the RiverLink Ferry from Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia across the Delaware River to the Children’s Garden (April through November).

The Children’s Garden is run by the Camden City Garden Club, a non-profit formed to help city residents with community gardening. The Camden Children’s Garden offers a variety of educational activities, including on-site lessons, Garden Festivals for Schools and Distance Learning.

The Camden City Garden Club employs Camden teenagers for job training and urban greening projects, and assists members with cleaning vacant, city-owned lots and transforming them into beautiful and productive community gardens, growing fresh and nutritious fruits and vegetables.

Grow Lab, a popular school-based program, teaches Camden elementary school children science and math skills through horticulture.

The Camden City Garden Club was established in 1985 to assist city residents with community gardening. Club members, interested in training city youth in landscaping techniques, began researching children’s gardens.

In consultation with teachers, landscape architects and Jane Taylor, noted designer of the children’s garden at Michigan State University, they developed the imaginative Camden Children’s Garden for children ages three to 12 and opened in July 1999.

Come Prepared

All educational activities have a fee and require reservations.

Don’t Miss

The Garden hosts several great festivals during the warmer months, including the StrawBEARy Surprise and Nature in Art Day in June and Chocolate and Vanilla Flavor Festival in August.

Outsider Tip

May is the best month for picnics in the butterfly garden.