As a vital part of The Garden’s initiatives to provide experiences for children that could be both fun-filled and serve as educational opportunities to learn about the importance of plants and nature, the Children’s Garden was established in April 2006.  The children of the Donald Schnuck family provided the lead gift funding for the Children’s Garden to honor their mother Doris.  The 2-acre Children’s Garden site , nestled just west of the Climatron, was developed with the theme of providing children with the opportunity to experience “A Missouri Adventure”; as they explore a waterfall, steamboat replica, cave, rope bridges, tree house, general store, and other attractions that are representative of how early Missouri settlers depended upon and interacted with plants and nature.  Various settings, designed for children ages 3 through 12, educate and entertain with learning experiences a child can take home with them.  These experiences revolve around the concept of the interdependence of all things in nature - humans, animals, plants, insects, and the environment - playing out in different ecosystems; which currently include a wetland, prairie, woodlands, pond, stream, and cave - scattered along the four main paths within the Children’s Garden.  Landscaping in the Children’s Garden relies heavily on Missouri Native Plants, and is designed to attract butterflies.

Each year, specific activities in the Children’s Garden follow a particular theme.  In 2007, the life and adventures of Mark twain were highlighted.  In 2008, the featured character was Daniel Boone.  In 2009, activities will focus on The Garden’s founder, Henry Shaw.  Beginning last year, the Children’s Garden also began offering staffed, themed “Germination Stations”, designed to allow children to cultivate emotional and intellectual connections to nature through multi-sensory experiences.  A significant addition in 2007 to the Children’s Garden was the Nature Explore Classroom - a unique outdoor attraction specially designed for children ages 3 through 8.  This program is a national initiative, developed in collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation.  The goal of Nature Explore Classrooms is to address the growing disconnect between children and nature.  Different areas of the outdoor Classroom are devoted to nature art, making music with natural instruments, creative use of natural building materials, and other unstructured play / learning experiences.