Our favorite Children's Garden - Morton Arboretum

Our visit to the Morton Arboretum to see the Troll Hunt art installation included some time spent in the Children’s Garden, the award-winning, 4-acre, interactive, educational, and super-fun garden. Filled with numerous different areas of exploration, the Children’s Garden is the most fantastic nature-themed play area I have ever had the chance to explore!

The Children’s Garden has two main areas: Backyard Discovery Gardens and Adventure Woods. The two are linked by a Central Plaza, and have ten smaller, themed gardens within. Engaging and interactive activities abound throughout, and just outside the Children’s Garden is an additional Maze Garden, a one-acre puzzle of hedges, complete with lookout tower.

“At The Morton Arboretum, imagination lives, curiosity grows, and kids flourish in the Children’s Garden. Splash through secret streams, climb colossal acorns, and slide down giant tree roots all day long. Explore, learn, and play among trees and the natural world.”

Leaf Station at the Morton Arboretum Children's Garden

Upon entering, stroll the Kids' Tree Walk and Tree Finder Grove, and spin the one-ton kugel ball in the Central Plaza.

Then head into the Adventure Woods portion of the garden. There you'll encounter Wonder Pond, Under the Trees, Grotto and Secret Stream, Grassy Meadow, and Evergreen Walk and Lookout.

The kids spent more than an hour playing in the stream, building dams and waterfalls. The Lookout was another favorite spot, complete with hanging bridges and multiple vantage points to the Children's Garden, seemingly located far up in the tree canopy. 

The tadpoles that hatch each spring in Wonder Pond are American Toads. This is a natural occurrence, but if you asked the kids, each glimpse of a tadpole was a magical happening! Bring a dry change of clothes if being dry is important to you, otherwise keep playing and the kids will be dry by the time they get in the car... unless they find the stream!

Next, in the Backyard Discovery Gardens area: Curiosity Garden, Bloom, Zoom, & Sprout, Every Which Way, and the Windmill Garden. The Every Which Way Garden allowed the moms to sit down and rest for a bit, while the kids played among tree 'roots', examined live pollinators in the monarch waystation, and learned how it feels to be a plant being watered in the giant mister - yes, you'll have to give them another hour to dry out again!

The Children’s Garden hours vary by season; please visit their website for more information. Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult while visiting the Children's Garden, and there is an employee stationed at the entrance to help monitor that kids don’t leave the garden without their parents.

In addition to the Maze Garden, there are two other nature play spaces on our grounds: Mud Kitchen and Word Garden. Visitors to the Arboretum through the end of 2018 can also participate in the Troll Hunt; see my post Hunting for Trolls at the Morton Arboretum.

Hunting for trolls at the Morton Arboretum

My last visit to the Morton Arboretum was a lifetime ago, but when I heard about the new art installation “Troll Hunt,” I knew we would be making the trek to Lisle during our sojourn in the Midwest. What more appropriate way to become reacquainted with the arboretum and hunt for trolls, than with best friends from my days in the UIUC forestry program? Of course a relaxing day strolling the paths of this Chicagoland institution wasn’t in the books – we hit the trails with three moms and eight kids, severely outnumbered but in for a fantastic adventure.

Meet Little Arturs!

The six trolls and one troll hideout is the work of Danish artist Thomas Dambo, and are crafted entirely from reclaimed wood and natural materials. The 15 to 30 foot tall sculptures serve as protectors of our environment: “The trolls share the Arboretum's desire to care for trees; however, they seem suspicious of humans. We need you to join the investigation and help trolls and humans come to understand each other. What will you discover when you join the hunt?”

Sneaky Socks Alexa had a 'human trap' set up, and was lying in wait to set it off...

“Troll Hunt” first opened in the spring of 2018, and will be on exhibit through 2018 and possibly into 2019. Bearing a resemblance to the trolls of European folklore, the enormous statues were a huge hit with the kids; we spent all day at the arboretum, split between troll hunting and the Children’s Garden.

Rocky Bardur is right off the parking lot - seems like someone parked a little too close!

Step one: Pick up the Troll Hunter's Handbook when you arrive. The trolls are located between two feet and ¾ of a mile from the nearest parking lot, spread over the Arboretum’s 1,700 acres; to see all the trolls, the total hiking distance is six to seven miles. A Morton map and the Handbook will help you find a logical route to visit the trolls, as well as provide prompts to find a clue for each troll; this will allow you to locate the Troll's ‘secret hideout,’ the seventh part of the installation. We opted to visit a few of the closer trolls by foot, and then drive to the remaining sites; see this link for info on accessibility and closest parking lots. You can also rent bicycles (or bring your own), as well as buy tickets to the troll tram; the 1½ hour tour takes you to 4 trolls with less than ½ mile walk at each.

The Troll Hideout

Step two: Try not to spend all day at the Troll Hideout! Once you’ve found all the trolls and filled in the blanks in the Troll Hunter’s Handbook, put your heads together to figure out where the hideout is located. It’s a short hike in but worth every step! There is a giant tepee structure for troll strategy sessions, and everything from a giant-sized mancala game board with pine cone pieces, to a troll-size toothbrush and other troll essentials! The kids took turns posing in the cauldron, banging the giant drum, cooping one another up in the human-size trap, and holding conferences in ‘troll court’. I spent my time admiring the imagination and craftsmanship behind every little detail of the hideout, photographing the shadows created by the tepee, and covering my ears whenever someone found the drum!

FYI: Morton Aroboretum has a Reciprocal Admissions Program with Hatcher Woodland Gardens in Spartanburg and the South Carolina Botanical Gardens, as well as the North Carolina Arboretum – please visit the website for more details. http://ahsgardening.org/gardening-programs/rap/find/statebystate Or, visit on a Wednesday for $5 off an adult ticket.

Troll Hunt, a Fairy Tale

Bison at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

All the National Parks, Monuments, Historic Sites etc. are managed by the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior. Also within the Department of the Interior is the Fish & Widlife Service, in charge of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The National Forests are under the purview of the Forest Service and the Department of Agriculture, however that doesn’t explain why the rather newly formed Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is managed by the Forest Service; I would expect that the resident bison and the tallgrass prairie ecosystem would be conducive to NPS management. But as it turns out, the area once housed part of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant, and in 1996 the Department of Defense transferred almost 20,000 acres to USFS who have been since managing the restoration of the historic habitat that is the first national tallgrass prairie in the country.

Restored tallgrass prairie on the right

Portions of Midewin (pronounced miDAY-win) were industrial while others were agricultural, and it was only after 8 years of restoration work that the first 5,000 acres could be opened to the public. Today, more than 13,300 acres are open to visitors for hiking, cycling, riding, birdwatching and hunting, with 34 miles of trail offering unique opportunities for outdoor recreation - just 60 miles south of Chicago.

First stop, the Visitor Center. In addition to maps, the knowledgeable folks there can tell you what is blooming, which migratory bird species have recently been spotted, as well as which quadrant the bison are in. Across from the Visitor Center is the Midewin Interagency Hotshot Crew headquarters; the Midewin Hotshots are the only Hotshot Crew in the Region, which means that you probably won’t see the crew as they are busy criss-crossing the country chasing fire and assisting local agencies with everything from prescribed burns to habitat management and wildfire training.

Batman and Bison at the Midewin Visitor Center

In addition to being one of the rare places to see tallgrass prairie, Midewin is also host to a herd of American bison. The last bison seen in Illinois was in 1808, but today over 1,000 acres in Midewin are home to an experimental herd that is being closely studied to learn how the bovids can aid native prairie restoration efforts. The bison range over four quadrants, and your stop at the Visitor Center will alert you as to which of the four they are currently in. On our visit they were in the southwest quadrant, easily visible from Hwy 53. Sure enough, we spotted their distinctive humps coming over a rise, and had we had the time we could have hiked out on the Route 53 Trail to the Southwest Bison Overlook for a closer look. For a live feed from the earthcam that looks out over an area the bison frequent, please visit the Midewin website or click here. 

Those dark bumps in the middle are bison. Or shrubs, you choose.

We opted for a short loop from the Iron Bridge Trailhead instead, the intense afternoon sun dismissing any idea of a multi-mile hike in the open prairie. As I mentioned previously, the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant was a former tenant (manufacturing munitions for the Korean and Vietnam Wars), and the Group 63 Trail allows visitors to view some of the old bunkers that were once used for storing ammunition. In 2010 the National Forest Foundation partnered with the USFS to remove drain tiles and roads to restore the prairie’s natural hydrology, as well as removing ammunition bunkers with the exception of a few in this particular area. We found one with the door open, and after the boys tested out the echo in the coolness of the interior we climbed to the top to take in the view. 

Inside one of the old munitions bunkers

While hiking, it is very important to remember that Midewin does have wild parsnip, the 4ft tall non-native plant that looks like dill or Queen Anne’s lace (but with yellow flowers). When touched, the plant's sap and the sun break down skin cells and tissues, making your skin extremely sensitive to sunlight; you get a bad sunburn everywhere the sap touches your skin. Easiest way to stay safe is to stay on the trail. The oils can be transferred to pet owners by their dog, and encounters with the plant frequently end in a visit to the emergency room.

However you shouldn’t let the parsnip deter you from hiking out on the tallgrass prairie on one of the many trails. Our midday trek was rewarded with the sighting of a Loggerhead Shrike, an endangered bird that hunts for prey over the open grasslands. Larger prey is impaled on sharp projections such as a thorn or strand of barbed wire, which anchors it for the shrike to tear off manageable pieces. The shrike will also use thorns to store food for later consumption, and so the barbed wire encircling the bison habitat is a great place to look for evidence of these rare birds in form of impaled insects. In addition to the loggerhead shrike, 148 other species of birds utilize the prairie for nesting, breeding or overwintering; 108 are permanent residents.

Monarch caterpillar on milkweed

More Midewin numbers: 18 endangered or threatened species, 40 aquatic species, 23 species of reptiles and 27 species of wild mammals. While the tallgrass prairie is the unique identifier, Midewin also has restored prairie savannah woodlands, restored marsh areas, seed production areas, and a pond. Check out the WW II era portable bridge on Bailey Bridge Trail that connects to the Wauponsee Glacial Trail, the 22.42 mile former railway that connects Joliet to Custer Park.

A huge shout-out & thank you goes to fellow blogger Barefoot Rose for the tour! Thanks to SR, PK & the boys for joining us at Midewin, for taking us to one of the best-kept secrets of the area (the Bathtub), and for feeding us. Next time we’ll try to time our visit with some cooler temperatures!

American bison photographed at Brookfield Zoo

PS For those looking to get a closer look at an American bison in the Chicago area, you can see the massive animals at Brookfield Zoo. And for more on prairie ecosystems, take the kids to the Peggy Breitbart Nature Museum!

A Chicago Botanic Garden Sunset

We found ourselves on the north side of Chicagoland with a few hours to spare, the hot sun having morphed into a more-manageable evening light. While on that end of the city, we decided to make a stop at the Chicago Botanic Garden; during the summer months the gardens are open until 9pm, allowing for a twilight stroll in cooler temperatures.

Lilies in the Native Plant Garden

The Chicago Botanic Gardens are known worldwide, despite being less than 50 years old. The origins can be traced back to the Chicago Horticultural Society which was founded more than 100 years ago, and today the CBG is owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and operated by the Chicago Horticultural Society. Although it had been at least a dozen years since my last visit, I knew we were in for a treat and was very much looking forward to refilling my batteries in this urban oasis.

Fountain in the English Walled Garden

Situated on 385 acres east of the Edens expressway (just north of the Skokie Lagoons), the garden is unique in that it contains six miles of shoreline, with nine islands offering a wide range of formal and more casual gardens. Although a couple of hours are not enough to see the gardens in their entirety, it is just enough for a walk around the main island through some of the more intensely managed areas.

After emerging from the Visitor Center we crossed the bridge over to the main island and started our visit in the Crescent and on the Esplanade. The views toward North Lake and the fountain were aglow in the soft evening light, and we stuck to the shoreline to reach the Native Plant Garden.

A lotus flower blooming in the Heritage Garden

The Aquatic Plant Garden is really unique, waterlilies blooming on both sides of a pier that zigzags through the water. Adjacent to it is the bulb garden, which offered some of the most fantastic color on this particular visit.

A rainbow of colors in the Bulb Garden

We crossed back through the Landscape Garden, emerging near the Circle Garden. The boys were not so excited about crossing the bridge to Spider Island once I told them it was named after the giant arachnids that live on the island (jk folks), but we persisted, and the dappled sunlight on the birches reminded me of the Latvian forests that are in every Latvian’s heart.

Bonsai!!!

We cut through the Regenstein Center to see the Bonsai Collection. There are over 200 bonsai that are displayed on a rotating basis, including a Japanese white pine that has been trained for at least 100 years.

We walked around the rose garden, and the boys took turns photographing, sniffing and splashing in the fountain.

The east end is my favorite portion of the island, as paths meander and crisscross - many secluded benches, walled gardens and quiet spots just waiting to be found. We skirted the Dwarf Conifer Garden and crossed the bridge to the Japanese Garden, admiring the oranges and reds of the setting sun through the manicured pine trees. These 17 acres include three islands, but only two are open to the public; the third symbolizes paradise, in sight but elusive.

Once back on the main island the boys insisted on following the rushing waters of the Waterfall Garden up to the pond at the top of the hill. The sun started dipping below the trees, and we raced twilight in our decent.

We explored the English Walled Garden and Oak Meadow knowing our time was almost up, enchanted by the emergence of fireflies and the soft glow of the Garden’s globe lighting. Before long we crossed back to the Heritage Garden, soaking the last bit in before crossing the bridge back to the Visitor Center and the city…

English Oak Meadow

Yet Another Baltic Christmas - Day 5, a Baltic Christmas at the MSI in Chicago

Today on 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas we travel from Atlanta (where we saw the 1^st ever Lithuanian Christmas tree at the Atlanta International Airport), to Chicago - for the Christmas Around the World Celebration at the Museum of Science and Industry, where all three of the Baltic countries have a Christmas tree!

The tradition began in 1942 with a single tree, newly decorated every day for 12 days to represent the countries fighting alongside America during World War II. The display has since grown to feature more than 50 trees and displays, decorated by volunteers to represent the holiday traditions from cultures around the globe – among those Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Estonia’s tree is decorated with small dolls in national costumes, apples, snowflakes and mittens. The dolls and their costumes are representative of the tradition of national dress, which is best represented at the Song and Dance Festival. Most of the 20,000 singers and 7,000 folk dancers wear their folk costumes at the Festival, which takes place in Tallinn once every five years. The garlands are woven belts that are part of the national costume, and specific to their region in Estonia. The handmade children’s mittens represent the longstanding craft of knitting, while snowflakes and icicles adorn the tree to evoke the cold winters.

The Latvian tree was decorated by the 8^th graders at the Chicago Latvian School this year, accompanied by Ēriks Blumbergs (cub scout leader & parent), Inga Lucāne (Latvian tree coordinator) and Aleks Briedis (parent). Originally the tree was decorated by the Chicago Latvian Youth Association, and then for many years the Latvian boy scouts and girl guides completed the task. In recent years the scout leaders still coordinate the effort, but the decorating is a field trip for the Latvian School of Chicago's 8th graders. Traditionally, Latvians use natural materials for ornaments and decorations, and so the Latvian tree is adorned with puzuri, cranberry garlands, pinecones, apples and nuts. Similar to the Estonian belt decorations, the Latvian tree features garlands of prievītes, woven ribbons decorated with traditional designs.

The Lithuanian tree was for some time decorated by the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture. When Juze Dauzvardis (wife of Petras Dauzvardis, then-Consul General of Lithuania in Chicago) was first asked to decorate the MSI tree, she wanted to distinguish it from all the others, and her solution was to use ornaments made of white paper drinking straws instead of the traditional straw. The modern and urban twist on the tradition has survived to this day, and has spread to Christmas trees far and wide. Every year Balzekas Museum hosts a Straw Christmas Ornament Workshop; although this year’s workshop has already taken place, you can find more information on the event on their website.

Three years ago we had the chance to attend the Christmas Around the World annual Holidays of Light gala, and the (much smaller) boys got to explore the rest of the museum after hours. It was a memorable experience, and I'm looking forward to taking them back now that they are a little older, to view the Latvian tree and take another look at the historic Museum of Science and Industry. You can get a look at the 2013 holiday trees and read about the experience here.

250,000 people visit the Museum of Science and Industry Christmas Around the World and Holidays of Light exhibit each year. In addition to the Christmas trees, the exhibit features cultural performances, ornament building activities and photos with Santa; Sunday, December 11th the Knights of Lithuania Dancers & Suktinis are performing at 2:45pm. For a calendar of other events please visit the MoSI webpage here, and remember to tag your photos of the Baltic trees with the museum’s #MSIHoliday hashtag so we flood the feed with a Baltic Christmas!

Thank you to Ēriks Blūmbergs and Inga Lucāne for the photographs of the Latvian MSI Christmas tree! Tomorrow on 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas we have a very special guest, Lithuanian author Daiva Venckus. Please join us for an in-depth look at the pagan traditions that have helped shaped the modern Kaleda into the Christmas celebration it is today! 

A journey across the 50 States at TCMU

We haven’t been THIS excited about a new exhibit at the Children’s Museum in a while… The third floor has been transformed into an exploration of the United States: Trivial Pursuit, A 50-State Adventure!

California, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Pennsylvania

The exhibit opened mid-January to high praise from many Upstate parents. Children can travel across the 50 states, discovering the geography, history and culture of some of America’s most spectacular places.

Alaska, Arizona

The scenic panoramas serving as backdrops feature familiar tourist destinations, National Parks, sports venues and historic sites. There are plenty of hands-on opportunities to learn for kids of all ages, with features for tactile toddler exploration alongside facts and trivia for older kids and adults. The boys raced sled dogs in the Iditarod, rode a mule into the Grand Canyon, hitched a ride in a covered wagon, hit a home run in Fenway, and snorkeled in Hawaii. Meanwhile I was mentally paging through a photo album of places I had visited, the most vivid memory being Arches National Park.

Nebraska, Massachusetts, Maine, Hawaii

We’ve been to the museum and "Trivial Pursuit" multiple times, and I still feel as we haven’t seen the whole exhibit – there is yet another state, another fun activity around every corner. My boys had fun searching for the states we’ve traveled to, and special attention was paid to those states that friends and family are living in.

Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, Utah, Alabama, Illinois

TCMU is also incorporating stories, arts and crafts into programs centered around the exhibit. Please visit their website and the calendar for more information on programs such as “Trivial Pursuit – Nebraska Adventure” and their President’s Day “Trivial Pursuit Camp.”

South Carolina, New Mexico, Montana, Idaho

The exhibit runs through May 15 of this year, so there is still plenty of time to discover this amazing exhibit! Entrance fees, museum hours and other information are available on the TCMU website, http://www.tcmupstate.org. Bon voyage!