Finney County Public Library
All over the country, Nature Explore Classrooms invite local children to spend time outside, in special areas designed to encourage imagination and creative thinking.
Garden City’s own Nature Explore Classroom is in a secure area just outside the Finney County Library. There, kids will find The Grassy Knoll, The Gathering Tree, Home of the Gnome, River Ramble, Sunflower House, Mulch Gulch, Secret Path, Dream Building, Melody Meadow, and Art Island.
Each of these places provides a unique opportunity for a child to pursue a specific type of activity, encouraged by colorful signs and natural objects.
Perennials, well-suited to the Garden City area, were used to maintain a flourishing landscape while keeping maintenance low. And plenty of durable materials were used in construction, such as cedar, natural stone and cast concrete.
Extra effort was made to give the classroom a fantasy feel, to encourage childrens’ imaginations, the most obvious of which is Rocky, the large wooden squirrel carved from an old tree trunk (he’s one of many squirrels who live in the area).
