Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Nature Play Garden

Designed for children ages 3 to 5, the garden has nature play elements that encourage curiosity and wandering discovery, like stumps for hopping and logs to crawl through. Kids can build and experiment with a “Builder’s Deck” with natural components like sticks, wood blocks, and giant bark chips. A low-balance course offers a series of several low logs for kids to practice balancing motor skills and provides a sense of adventure and accomplishment for young children. Children can help build a hummingbird nest made of sticks and moss and crawl inside, encouraging role-play.

While the play elements are for the younger crowd, the garden is meant to be enjoyed by guests of all ages and abilities. The garden is filled with native and exotic plants that attract pollinators such as bees, hummingbirds and butterflies. Everyone can appreciate the garden’s beautiful, engaging landscape of shrubs, flowers, grasses, rocks, logs and places to watch tiny creatures at work.