July 1 to Thanksgiving; Hendrie Park
Open daily, free with regular daily admission
Weekly special programs
Hello explorers. Grab your pith helmet, fire your imagination, and get ready for an adventure – A Rainforest Adventure.
Explore the four fascinating layers of the rainforest – from the mystical canopy to the magical forest floor.
Discover incredible creatures including a 100 lb rodent.
Detect a beetle that can carry 850 times its own weight – that’s like you picking up 25 cars at once!
Connect with the mind-boggling biodiversity of one of the most fascinating areas in the world!
Solve the mystery of the maze while you swing like a spider monkey through the rainforest.
Rainforest Adventure allows you to explore one of the least known habitats on earth in a fully interactive maze exhibit, chock full of the sights and sounds of a tropical rainforest.
The journey begins in the highest treetops surrounded by migratory birds and radiant sunlight. In an effort to reach the forest floor, visitors answer questions about the rainforest. Incorrect answers lead to dead-ends while correct answers lead them deeper into the four layers of the rainforest: emergent, canopy, understory and forest floor.
2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity, and Royal Botanical Gardens — Canada’s biodiversity hotspot — is proud to bring the biodiverse rainforest to our own backyard.
Sundays
10 a.m to 4:30 p.m —
Discovery Cart activities and
Discovery Packs
11 a.m. — Tall Tales
11:30 a.m. — Critter Quest
1 p.m. — Rainforest Creation
1:30 p.m. — Chew on This
2 p.m. — Cockroach Crossing!
2:30 p.m. — Critter Quest
3:30 p.m. — Tall Tales
Tall Tales
Told by our Interpreters. Younger children will enjoy this story time under the shade of a tree.
Rainforest Creations
Interpreters guide children through these educational rainforest crafts, and each child takes home his own creation.
Cockroach Crossing
Cockroaches are one of the many inhabitants of the rainforest. Have you ever wondered what they look like…or feel like…up close? Meet some of their close relatives and find out for yourself!
Beastie Bingo Scavenger Hunt
Clipboard? Check. Pencil? Check. You’re off! Explore Hendrie Park’s natural side with this exciting scavenger hunt challenge. Kids of any age can participate.
Discovery Packs
On loan for free from the
Discovery Cart, these
packs are designed for ages 3 to 11. Borrow your choice of Insect or Plant pack complete with activity pages, insect nets, insect jars and identification guides.
Discovery Cart
Visit the interpretation tent for these activities including the Beak Buffet, Habitat Match, and the cacao display.
Critter Quest
Join an interpreter and learn how to be a nature detective. Call to the birds, feed them from hand, and grab a net to discover the wonderful world of insects! These hikes are approximately 30 minutes in length and follow a Hendrie Valley trail.
Chew this!
Have you ever wondered where chewing gum came from? This weekend workshop demonstrates how chewing gum can still be made naturally using a key ingredient from the sapodilla tree. Don’t worry, there will be enough for everyone to try!