This weekend, my family had the pleasure of exploring Okla-Gnoma at the Myriad Botanical Gardens. I knew we were on to something big when my 7-year-old exclaimed "Oh, mom, this is SO neat!"—and we hadn't even moved past the admission table!
Where to Go:
To welcome warmer weather, the Children's Garden at the Myriad Garden has attracted a whole gnome village—and the pointy-hatted little guys (and gals) are quite literally everywhere you look! Hanging from tree branches, hiding in the raised bed gardens, playing cards in the Gnome Village, fishing in the small pond and even visiting from outer space, these gnomes are all different, all cute and a blast to find as you walk through the children's garden.
What to Do:
We were given a scavenger hunt sheet upon entry, and I have to admit I am not always a big scavenger hunt fan. But this hunt was fun as it detailed out specific gnomes to find in the gardents (including a gnome sleeping in a hammock, a gnome named Gerome and a gnome scientist). Some were easy to find—but others required us to really pay attention and use our sleuthing skills. (If you go, I'll give you a hint—the gnome with a frog is near the lettuce bed. It took us forever to find that one! And we had to ask for help to find the gnome with the plant growing out of it's head…but I don't want to make it too easy for you!)
In addition to just exploring the gnome village, you can also enjoy free hands-on crafts. This weekend, the crafts included decorating construction paper butterflies, making doily flowers and decorating & eating gnome hat cookies (which were from Ingrid's Kitchen—and were delicious. Not that I ate my son's cookie or anything…)
You can also choose to paint your own ceramic gnome to take home. Gnomes are $5 for members and $7 for nonmembers—and Myriad Gardens staff will hold the freshly-painted gnomes at the craft area for you while they dry so no one ends up a paint-y mess. Well, in the interest of full disclosure, my son somehow ended up with paint on the back of his shirt and up his ear…but painting our own gnomes to take home was definitely worth the mess! (And don't worry, moms—the paint is all washable!)
And if you haven't had a chance to explore the Children's Garden playground or the Thunder Fountain spraypark at the Myriad Gardens, this is the perfect time to kill two birds with one stone! The spraypark is officially open for the season, so bring some dry clothes or a towel and let your kids enjoy some water play after the get finished gnome hunting.
The Myriad Gardens are located at 301 W. Reno in downtown OKC. Entry to Oklahoma-Gnoma is $5 per child—and Myriad Gardens members can bring up to 8 people for free. Okla-Gnoma continues through next Sunday, May 19th—so be sure to get your gnome hunting on while you can!
For more information, visit www.myriadgardens.org.
