Homes of Nature
Built on a colossal scale, these interactive installations encourage our youngest guests to walk, crawl, and climb inside, outside, up ,down, and all around each structure. Enjoy creative play in the Critters' Corner, Bird's Nest, Bee Hive, Bird House and more. Across from the Corbin Conservatory and the Playgarden.
Playgarden
This fun-filled garden environment features six exciting interactive adventures, including a splash fountain, a kid-powered antique Model A truck, archeological dig and a Tudor revival playhouse.
Playgarden pathways lead to six different interactive areas offering a variety of experiences:
- The Playgarden gate echoes the arched ceiling of the Great Hall in the Manor House in Harmony Hall. A chandelier of “organ pipes” overhead is inspired by the historic Aeolian Organ in the Music Room. This organ is interactive: when guests step on invisible sensors beneath the chandelier, instruments play and bubbles rise into the air all around them.
- The floor of Splash Fountain mimics the floor pattern of the Manor House Round Room.
- The Tudor Revival Playhouse, inspired by the Estate’s Carriage House, is 15 feet tall, and includes a spiral slide, an amazing marble chase, a footbridge and a rock climbing wall.
- The centerpiece of the Motion Garden, is a restored 1929 Model A Ford truck, a nod to Frank “F.A.” Seiberling’s legendary influence on the automotive industry. Seasonal plantings in the truck bed will balance the activity inspired by a vintage bicycle and radio.
- Joe’s Dig honors Joe, the Seiberling family’s St. Bernard, and includes a dog house topped by a “green” roof planted with flowers and foliage. Listen: do you hear Joe, the family dog? Large enough for child to crawl through, the other side features an archaeological dig, where children may search for small keepsakes which connect to the theme of the season.
- Playgarden features a two-lane Bowling Lawn, a reminder that the Seiberlings loved sporting activities and had a bowling alley in the basement of the Manor House and a bowling lawn outside north of the West Terrace.