ART & NATURE DAYS
Art & Nature Days at Laumeier Sculpture Park bring families, friends, and individuals together for a celebration of creativity in the great outdoors. Through hands-on art activities, engaging demonstrations, and seasonal experiences, visitors can explore the deep connections between art, nature, and community. These events encourage time spent in green spaces, which supports overall wellbeing, sparks creativity, and offers moments of joy and connection. 2026 Art & Nature Days coincide with Laumeier’s Begin Again: 50 Years and Counting exhibition series, celebrating half a century of creative discovery, nature appreciation, and community.
Each Art & Nature Day will feature a collaborative time capsule activity, set to be opened on Laumeier' Sculpture Park’s 75th anniversary in 2051. Plus, stop by the front desk inside the Aronson Fine Arts Center to check-out family-friendly interactive kits, like "I Spy...In the Gallery" BINGO, created by our education team. They’re fun for all ages!
ART & NATURE DAY
Join us Saturday, October 3, for the opening of Begin Again: Honey Chile’ by Alison Saar + Begin Again: Untitled by Ursula von Rydingsvard, featuring an artist talk with Alison Saar and Curator Dana Turkovic.
The celebration takes place throughout the Park from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. and includes free, hands-on art & nature activities + creative play inspired by artworks in the Begin Again series.
ART & NATURE DAY SCHEDULE / SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3
11 AM – 2 PM / FREE ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES
Exhibition Opening / Outdoor Galleries: Art Hike Trail
Explore Begin Again: Honey Chile’ + Begin Again: Untitled. Join Alison Saar and Curator Dana Turkovic at Honey Chile' for an artist talk @ noon. Arrive between 11 a.m.–noon for a meet & greet with the artist and our curator.
Fall Memory Jars / Siteman Carriage House Deck
Create a fall memory jar using charms, dried wildflowers and, other mindfully foraged materials from the Park. Write special notes to tuck inside your jar as a keepsake to remember the day!
Sculpture Lab / Siteman Carriage House Deck
Look closer at the art around you! See Ursula von Rydingsvard’s casting form for Untitled up close. Discover how Begin Again: Wak’a Garden will transform through the fall and winter months. Sculpture Lab is an all-ages learning space where curious minds can explore artists’ techniques, materials, and ideas through educational media, hands-on objects, and collaborative activities.
2051 Community Time Capsule Sealing Ceremony / Outdoor Galleries: South Lawn
See what we are sending off into the future! Gather with us @ 1:30 p.m. to take a peek inside Laumeier’s 2051 Community Time Capsule before it’s sealed and buried for twenty-five years. See memorable moments, messages from our community, and maybe even a few surprises!
Family Play Space / Kranzberg Education Lab
Build with natural materials and found objects, investigate photos of Honey Chile’ and Untitled, and get cozy in our reading corner with books featuring myths, legends, and folktales. This space is designed for children ages 0–8.
Invitation to Create: Maker Space / Kranzberg Education Lab
Inspired by Saar's work, create a miniature take-home sculpture using natural materials, found objects, and wire to tell your own story. This space is designed for ages 8+.
10 AM – 11:15 aM / $10 / REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Golf Cart Tour: Trees and the Sculptural Landscape / Outdoor Galleries: Varies
Join us before Art & Nature Day starts to explore Laumeier’s grounds by golf cart and visit trees in the sculptural landscape. Join Laumeier’s education and curatorial team and local Arborist Michael Garrett as we learn about several types of tree species and some of the hidden histories related to sculptures in the Park. Register Here
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Feel free to bring a picnic lunch. Snacks and beverages will also be available for purchase in the Aronson Fine Arts Center.
PAST 2026 ART & NATURE DAYS
ART & NATURE DAY / FEB. 7
We celebrated the opening of Begin Again: 50 Years and Counting + Art & Nature Day. Visitors explored the anniversary exhibition, gathered for Dana Turkovic’s curator talk, and created fun finger puppets with the Puppet Guild of Guild of Greater St. Louis, an activity that paid special tribute to RiverFaces, an arts initiative from 1984–1987. (Learn more below.)
ART & NATURE DAY / APRIL 18
Begin Again: Wak’a Garden opened with a planting performance by co-creators Juan William Chávez and Kiersten Torrez, joined by Saundi McClain-Kloeckener, Aida Lizalde and Tess Angelica Losada-Tindall. Guests created no-sew aprons and seeding soil blocks, learned about native gardening and pollinators, and explored a nature-and music-inspired family playspace.
ABOUT THE HEADER PHOTOS:
Art & Nature Day, February 7, 2026. Staff photos.
RiverFaces, 1984. Laumeier Sculpture Park Photo Archive.
RiverFaces was a community arts initiative from 1984–1987. During this time, Laumeier hosted free workshops where participants designed and constructed masks and large-scale puppets for the RiverFace’s parade held in downtown St. Louis. More than 250 participants of all ages devoted two hours daily to projects of this workshop, from which came a 30-foot papier mâché puppet as Laumeier’s entry in the parade.
Art & Nature Day, April 18, 2026. Photos by Wil Driscoll.