---

Paul Smith Children’s Village

The Paul Smith Children’s Village is a must-​​see children’s garden for all ages. The Village’s underlying theme is to teach concepts of sustainability from the past, present and future. In accordance with our commitment to sustainability, the Children’s Village received the LEED Platinum award, the highest level of certification for a green building and landscape from the U.S. Green Building Council. The Children’s Village is currently the only children’s garden in the country to receive this award.

Click here for upcoming activities at the Children’s Village

Click below for a printable map

The Children’s Village site takes advantage of a pre-​​existing stone building and stone walls surrounding a courtyard. It was constructed in the early 1930s through the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Depression-​​era job training program.

The building once housed tractors, trucks and snow blowers has now been converted into the Lowe’s Discovery Lab.  It is solar heated and solar and wind powered. It also includes a small historic greenhouse.

The three-​​quarter acre site is filled with numerous specialty, interactive landscapes including a natural wetlands, gravity powered water works, farmers windmill, solar pumps, sculptures, world vegetable garden, prairie plantings, a “Secret Garden,” art/​crafts plazas, historic sheep wagon, tipi village, picnic orchard, puppet theater and more. The center of the site features a geodesic dome. 

The design and construction of the Children’s Village was funded entirely through the non-​​profit foundation (Friends of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens) raising approximately $2 million from donors and businesses. It was opened to the public in September of 2009.

Click here to view photo gallery.