Nature’s Workshop

Think like a naturalist and treat the outdoors as your ultimate building material! Nature's Workshop is a premier outdoor space where children engage with the environment through imaginative, instruction-free play. This hands-on space encourages explorers to get their hands dirty while discovering the raw textures, shapes, and possibilities found in the natural world. 

Mix stone soup in our Mud Kitchen, experimenting with earth, water, and natural textures in messy sensory play. Build forts and sculptures using natural loose parts like branches, pinecones, stumps, stones, and seeds. Dig in the Discovery zone to uncover hidden treasures and observe life beneath the soil. Every stick, rock, and leaf becomes a tool for creative construction and scientific investigation. 

This exhibit teaches that nature itself is the perfect classroom - no batteries, instructions, or manufactured toys required. Just resourcefulness, observation skills, and willingness to explore how earth and water can be combined, reshaped, and transformed into something new. Wear play clothes - the best adventures end with a little mud! 

    • Mud Kitchen: A specialized sensory area for mixing "stone soup" and exploring the gritty textures of earth and water 

    • Natural Loose Parts: A collection of branches, stones, stumps, and seeds for open-ended building and fort construction 

    • Discovery Dig: A dedicated zone for uncovering hidden natural treasures and observing life beneath the soil 

    • Science: Explore biology and the characteristics of natural elements found in the local ecosystem 

    • Society: Negotiate roles and cooperate with others during complex, group-led imaginative play 

    • Literacy: Practice oral storytelling and following "nature recipes" in a rustic setting 

    • Tangible World: Direct engagement with natural objects and raw materials in an unscripted outdoor environment 

    • Creative: Using the forest-themed backdrop for deep, imaginative world-building and role-play 

    • Observation: Examining the intricate textures and growth patterns found in the natural world 

Explore More 

This exhibit is located in Outdoor Discovery Area. Also explore: Bill's Bubble Factory | Sensory Garden 

  • A woman with short dark hair, glasses, and a pink T-shirt with the words 'human' and 'dinner' written on it, faces a young girl with curly blonde hair in a striped shirt. They appear to be in a rustic wooden setting, possibly a kitchen or craft area, engaged in a close interaction.
  • A young girl inside a wooden playhouse, playing with sand and using a small shovel or scoop.
  • A woman is sitting outside at a table on a patio, looking through a window into a wooden playhouse where two children are playing. One child, wearing a red hoodie, is at a play kitchen set, and another child, partially visible, is holding a red toy.
  • A woman and a young girl playing together in a wooden playhouse or outdoor kitchen. The girl is reaching into a toy sink, and the woman is kneeling beside her, observing. The scene is framed by green leaves.
  • Three children playing in a small outdoor enclosure with gravel ground and a metal fence, surrounded by parked cars.
  • A young boy with dark hair, wearing a red t-shirt that says 'JAM WITH THE CREW,' is sitting at a wooden table, looking down and using a small wooden rolling pin to crush fresh green herbs on a wooden cutting board.
  • A young child with blonde hair, wearing a black and red jacket, kneeling on a gravel surface outdoors, playing with a red toy shovel and small rocks.
  • A young girl in a blue dress is reaching into a wooden box filled with small rocks and dirt, exploring its contents.
  • Young girl with dark hair, wearing a colorful plaid dress, playing with dirt in a blue bowl at an outdoor setting.
  • Three young girls are playing at a wooden outdoor play kitchen. One girl in a pink dress is holding a blue bowl, while the other two girls are using the play kitchen utensils and tools. The setting is outdoors with green leafy trees visible through the open fence.