The Rain and Shine garden is where you will find our Sundial and Balloon!
Become a human Sundial or climb into our hot-air balloon and feel like you're
floating over plants and clouds!
What do you see?
What patterns do you see
in the garden?
Balloon History
In September 1783, a sheep, a duck, and a rooster became the first "passengers" in a hot air balloon launched in France by the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph and Ettienne. The first human passengers went up two months later.
Make your own Hot Air Balloon (adult help required)
Sundial
How to use a Sundial:
Step into the set of footprints next to the month that you are currently in.
Raise your right hand.
The sun will cast a shadow across numbers in the pavement.
This will reveal the time of day!
Humans first realized
that the sun could be used to tell the time of day over 3,500 years ago!
Make Your Own Sundial (paper)
Make Your Own Human Sundial (adult help required)
Come to the Children's Garden and see how a Sundial works, before you make your own.
Plants can tell time
Plants can help tell
what time it is? A French astronomer performed the first known experiment on biological
rhythms in 1729. He investigated the behavior of heliotrope, a plant with leaves that are
opened during the day and closed at night.
Biological Clock of Some Flowers
