Garfield Park Conservatory Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden

Set within the iconic Garfield Park Conservatory on Chicago’s near west side, the Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden transforms a tropical indoor landscape into a vibrant, immersive environment for play and learning. Guided by exploration, storytelling, and connection to nature, the Base Camp Explorer-themed experience invites visitors on a journey that strengthens the Conservatory’s connection to surrounding under-resourced communities.

GOALS

Connecting younger generations to nature has been shown to contribute to myriad benefits for children’s health and well-being. A need exists to connect people to nature who have been historically underrepresented and excluded in the outdoor movement. Bringing this investment of year-round nature play space to Garfield Park helps enhance the greater West Side community and makes Chicago a more equitable and sustainable city.

To create an immersive, nature-based learning and play environment within the Garfield Park Conservatory, RVi collaborated with community and donor stakeholder groups on a vision that would connect children to plant life through exploration and storytelling, expand access to inclusive, year-round experiences for surrounding communities, and integrate education, play, and discovery within a cohesive indoor landscape. Building upon a vision and concepts that began years earlier and faced numerous delays, RVi partnered with the Chicago Parks District to lead a full restart in 2019, seamlessly delivering planning, design, and construction services.

OUTCOMES

The reimagined Elizabeth Morse Genius Children’s Garden provides an immersive, nature-based learning and play environment for families year-round. Housed beneath the glass canopy of the Garfield Park Conservatory, the 6,000 sq. ft. indoor garden and playscape weaves interpretive storytelling along a tropical adventure path, encouraging multiple levels of interaction with exotic plants and ecosystems, and merging donor recognition through a signage program integrated with wayfinding

Throughout the garden, nature-inspired play elements, including oversized fungi, fallen logs, and giant leaves, are paired with activity zones such as the Discovery Outpost to orient travelling parties, and an Activity Wall and Art area for sensory and creative play. A wheelchair-accessible spiral ramp leads to a custom flower-themed climber and elevated viewpoints to offer new perspectives on the plant collections from within the unique vantage point of the clearstory of the greenhouse. Additional themed garden rooms provide diverse educational and sensory experiences, with every space promoting an open-ended setting for children to create their own adventures, while being structured for docent-led programming.

Designing a safe, accessible space within a high-humidity, high-temperature environment required careful planning of materials selected for their durability and techniques to withstand a demanding tropical and high-use environment. RVi’s leadership through planning, design, and construction provided a thoughtfully phased approach that enhanced the maintained the historic integrity while advancing building performance as a valued community asset.

Photography: Scott Hargis Photography www.scotthargisphoto.com