Drayton Hall celebrates National Public Gardens Day!

Last weekend, Drayton Hall participated in National Public Garden Day at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. We were happy to share with the guests some of the activities we do at Drayton Hall that celebrate the joy of the natural world. Read on for a write up of the day from Tara White, Drayton Hall Interpreter.

Children at the Drayton Hall table experiment with pluff mud drawings.

Amid the spring blossoms and excited visitors, Drayton Hall’s education programs were on full display at the 2013 National Garden Day Exposition held at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. We set up a table to exhibit pictures, brochures, and educational activities beginning at 9:00 and lasting until about 2:00. With Drayton Hall’s participation, nearly 200 children created leaf rubbings and pluff mud paintings, two of the activities from our Marsh Madness program. We interacted with students enjoying a school field trip, homeschoolers with their parents, and even tourists that just happened to be visiting Magnolia on Garden Day!

Drayton Hall celebrates National Public Gardens Day!

Pluff mud finger-painting was by far the favorite activity, giving children a chance to dig their finger into a jar of the local marsh material, designing a painted masterpiece of their own. Many children excitedly told us how much fun it was to play with mud, something that was usually off-limits for them! Nearly all of the teachers and parents we spoke with knew very little about Drayton Hall’s educational programs, and eagerly wanted to learn about our standards-based curriculum. By talking to both the children and adults, the exposition provided Drayton Hall an incredible opportunity for education, outreach, and fun for all who visited Magnolia on National Garden Day!

Author: Tara White

Tara is an educator and interpreter at Drayton Hall where she leads public tours and educational school programs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history and art from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. In addition to educating visitors at Drayton Hall, she is a teaching artist at the Gibbes Museum of Art.