There is something magical happening in Hanford!
The Children’s Storybook Garden & Museum opened in 2014 and is still a work in progress, but it is a truly special place for children and families and we are so fortunate to have it here in the Central Valley!
This garden holds a special place in our hearts because we actually helped get it started back in 2013!
Here we are helping to prepare the land for the garden when it was still just a dirt lot!
If you live in Fresno, you can ride Amtrak to the garden – even better!
Fresno families often make an outing of riding the train to Hanford and eating ice cream at Superior Dairy, but now you can have so much more fun and learning, because the garden is just past Superior Dairy and only a short walk away from the Amtrak station.
When we checked in at the train station, our kids were given Junior Conductor packages – what a great surprise!
They absolutely loved wearing these cute hats,
and doing the activities included in the pack while we traveled.
Mom and Dad loved it to, because we were able to relax while the kids were busy and happy.
After a fun train ride and a short walk through beautiful Downtown Hanford, we arrived at the garden and the kids immediately began exploring all of the cute themed areas.
Many of the spaces are based on storybooks or fairy tales.
There is a Jack and Jill hill to roll down,
Humpty Dumpty,
Charlotte’s Web Dairy Barn,
and the Three Little Pigs Houses.
We really enjoyed playing in these and acting out the story!
Mom pretended to be the wolf while the kids ran from house to house.
There are so many little play houses with cute play kitchens.
The kids were doing lots of pretend play and it was great to see their imaginations coming alive!
They also enjoyed the best part of outdoor play – getting dirty, especially when they played in the Dino Dig.
So much fun!
However, the hands-down best part of our visit to the garden was learning about how food grows from the very knowledgable and kind workers.
They grow many different fruits and vegetables, and visitors can watch the whole process and learn all about it.
Picking radishes from Mr. McGregor’s garden!
We even got to pick some veggies and take them home with us!
What a wonderful learning opportunity!
At this time, the garden is only about half-way completed, so we are very excited to watch the rest come to life!
Of course, after all that fun, we had to stop and get some of that amazing Superior Dairy ice cream!
The Children’s Storybook Garden and Museum is located at 175 E. 10th St. in Hanford and is open Monday-Saturday.
Check the website for hours, as they may change seasonally.
They also offer many fun events, such as story times, holiday events, and kids nights out.
Follow the Facebook page for details.
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