Norfolk Botanical Garden World Of Wonders

Norfolk, Virginia is a community rich in ethnic diversity and is the North American headquarters for NATO.  The overall design philosophy for the Children’s Garden at the Norfolk Botanical Garden is to introduce and interest children in plants by way of global themes.  Children explore the connections between plants, international culture and environment using their natural curiosity and instinct to play.  
The garden introduces visitors to the global theme in a forecourt/entry space which allows visitors informal perimeter seating and features a central United Nations Parterre.  A central plaza and global garden is the primary organizing feature of the garden and contains a walk-through map of the world, with continents, bioregions and wet oceans.  Children learn geography, pattern recognition, plant communities, and route finding here.  A maze-like tunnel surrounds the plaza and offers entry into gardens that represent six continents of the world and feature typical plants of representative biomes, interactive artifacts from selected cultures, time zone sundials, and passport stamping stations.