PBS KIDS Backyard

Cultivate a love for gardening and the outdoors with your entire family in PBS KIDS Backyard! In addition to a variety of educational gardening activities, the area will feature a swing set, basketball court, trampoline and putting green. Backyard Equipment Sponsored by PlayN Wisconsin.

Every day is “Family Day” at the Garden & Landscape Expo, with special highlights throughout the weekend.

Free Admission

Garden & Landscape Expo offers free admission for children 12 and under, helping make it an affordable family outing in the middle of winter.

PBS KIDS Passport

Calling all kids! Pick up your PBS KIDS Passport in the PBS KIDS Backyard during Garden & Landscape Expo. You’ll collect stamps from participating exhibitor booths, participate in fun activities and pick up giveaways and educational resources along the way. Drop off your completed passport at the PBS Wisconsin booth to be entered into a drawing for a prize package.

Children holding up vegetables

2024 Schedule of Activities

Friday, Feb. 9

All Day

Family fun area with swing set, basketball court, trampoline and putting green (provided by PlayN Wisconsin)

12 – 4 PM

Crafty Critters: Make a take-home craft and learn more about the animals at the zoo and the plants that they enjoy with a make-your-own magnet craft and matching game. (Henry Vilas Zoo)

12 – 4 PM

Take a virtual tour of some local farms and make serious wholesome snacks using fresh ingredients on a blender-bike! (REAP Food Group)

1:15 – 1:45 PM

Meet Clifford the Big Red Dog

2:15-2:45 PM

Meet PBS KIDS Daniel Tiger

3 – 4 PM

Pothos Propagation Station: Bring the zoo home with you and learn about plant propagation with HVZ’s Horticulturist. (Henry Vilas Zoo)

4:15 – 4:45 PM

Meet Clifford the Big Red Dog

5:15 – 5:45 PM

Meet PBS KIDS Daniel Tiger

Saturday, Feb. 10

All Day

Family fun area with swing set, basketball court, trampoline and putting green (provided by PlayN Wisconsin)

9:45 AM – 10:15 AM

Storytime with Lisa Moser: Lisa Moser is the author of eleven books for children and loves sharing the joy of reading and writing.  She will host a fun, interactive storytime with her books Stories from Bug Garden and Squirrel’s World.  Join Lisa as she regales children with stories about an exuberant but exhausting squirrel, an adventurous cricket, a not-so-dragony dragonfly, a contented bee and more.  To learn more about Lisa and her books, or to order books to bring and be signed, visit her website at LisaMoserBooks.com.

10 AM – 1 PM

Prairie Plant Power – Native plants are incredible! Discover their importance in prairie ecosystems from their roots to their shoots and get hands on with your own prairie plant starter kit. (Aldo Leopold Nature Center)

10 AM – 2 PM

Take a virtual tour of some local farms and make serious wholesome snacks using fresh ingredients on a blender-bike! (REAP Food Group)

10 AM- 3 PM

Crafty Critters: Make a take-home craft and learn more about the animals at the zoo and the plants that they enjoy with a make-your-own magnet craft and matching game. (Henry Vilas Zoo)

10 AM – 3 PM

Wonder, Explore and Learn: Join in the building of a Wonder Wall – a place to collect ‘’wonders” and encourage children to stay curious and lead the learning process. While supplies last, families can also complete garden-themed activity sheets and make a special magnifying glass to guide their explorations. (PBS Wisconsin Education)

10:30 AM – 11 AM

Meet Clifford the Big Red Dog

11:30 AM – 12 PM

Meet Clifford the Big Red Dog

12:15 – 12:45 PM

Meet PBS KIDS Daniel Tiger

1:15 – 1:45 PM

Storytime with Lisa Moser: Lisa Moser is the author of eleven books for children and loves sharing the joy of reading and writing.  She will host a fun, interactive storytime with her books Stories from Bug Garden and Squirrel’s World.  Join Lisa as she regales children with stories about an exuberant but exhausting squirrel, an adventurous cricket, a not-so-dragony dragonfly, a contented bee and more.  To learn more about Lisa and her books, or to order books to bring and be signed, visit her website at LisaMoserBooks.com.

2:15 -2:45 PM

Meet Clifford the Big Red Dog

3:15 -3:45 PM

Meet PBS KIDS Daniel Tiger

4:15 -4:45 PM

Meet PBS KIDS Daniel Tiger

Sunday, Feb. 11

All Day

Family fun area with swing set, basketball court, trampoline and putting green (provided by PlayN Wisconsin)

10 AM – 3 PM

Snakes, Reptiles & Amphibians: See and learn more about several of Wisconsin’s local or native species, as well as some more exotic ones! (Madison Area Herpetological Society)

10 AM – 4 PM

Native Wisconsin seeds! Conduct a few experiments to learn how the seeds are dispersed all over our natural environment. (Lussier Family Heritage Center)

10:15 – 10:45 AM

Meet PBS KIDS Daniel Tiger

11 – 11:45 AM

Learn about nature and Spanish in a fun way through hands-on activities, dance, and culture! (Semillitas – Spanish in Nature)

12:45 – 1:15 PM

Meet Clifford the Big Red Dog

1:45 – 2:15 PM

Meet PBS KIDS Daniel Tiger

2:30 – 3 PM

Vermicompost Story Time / Show & Tell (Lussier Family Heritage Center)

3:15 – 3:45 PM

Meet Clifford the Big Red Dog

Educational Presentations

The following presentations relating to kids will also take place during the 2024 Garden & Landscape Expo:

Square-foot and Raised Bed Gardening

Sunday, Feb. 11 at 10:15 a.m. in Mendota 1-2
Lisa Johnson – Extension Dane County

Square-foot gardening has been around since the 1970’s when Mel Bartholomew popularized this technique for intensive food production in a small space. It is a simple raised bed system based on 4-foot by 4-foot beds divided into one-foot square grids. There are also other raised bed types we will cover, such as pizza gardens, that are popular with kids. Learn about how to care for plants in raised beds, with information on soils, fertilizing, watering and simple building schemes.

Semillitas – Spanish in Nature

Sunday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. in Mendota 8
Alejandra Jimenez, Semillitas Spanish in Nature

Semillitas (“little seeds” in English) is a weekly early childhood environmental education program in Spanish for kids from 2 years old to 6 years old accompanied by an adult. It encompasses language immersion, environmental education, cultural learning and FUN by means of nature-inspired hands-on activities in Milwaukee. The presentation will consist of how the program was created, what is this group about, examples of classes and the importance of it for the society.

Can’t Join us In-person? We are Online!

Go on an adventure to PBS KIDS Virtual Backyard! Cultivate a love for gardening with your entire family in PBS KIDS Backyard! Explore a variety of educational gardening activities like learning how plants grow, how to make a wild bee hotel and you can play online gardening games. Be sure to check out additional educational resources from PBS Wisconsin Education.