Get GROWing at the St. Louis Science Center’s GROW Gallery

SLSC Indoor-Outdoor GROW Exhibit Partners Fall 2020 from Illinois Agricultural Assoc. on Vimeo. 

Still looking for a staycation before the kids head back to school, for the upcoming Labor Day holiday or beyond?

You and your family might want to consider a visit to the GROW Pavilion and Gallery at the St. Louis Science Center. Conveniently located right off of I-64 just south of the city’s Central West End and Forest Park, the exhibit offers more than 5,000 square feet to explore, both indoors and out. GROW celebrates food and farming on both sides of the Mississippi River and offers a wide range of family-friendly activities. Visitors can:

• Stroll outdoors among the rows of Illinois and Missouri crops such as corn, cotton, rice, soybeans and more.
• Visit the Animal Corral, which shows how to milk cows, teaches how cattle and hogs digest feed, and explains how farmers manage animal feed conversion.
• See a modern combine harvester up close.
• Peek inside the greenhouse, where aquaponic, aeroponic and hydroponic systems grow food.
• Too hot outside? Find out what’s in store for you in the GROW Pavilion, where you can trace the steps of our food from the farm to the table, explore the hands-on, Illinois-specific map, see soil monoliths from every U.S. state, and watch videos from Illinois farms supplied by several county Farm Bureaus in Illinois.

Crops have been growing at the St. Louis Science Center’s outdoor section of the GROW Gallery this summer. It’s open Thursdays through Mondays and free to explore. (Reservations are required.)

“Guests have to make reservations, but it’s still free, and everyone is required to wear masks – staff and guests, children age 9 and up,” says GROW manager Maddie Earnest.

Illinois Farm Bureau, one of the GROW Gallery’s major sponsors when it opened in 2016, has made additional contributions toward the exhibit over the last two years.

See more: Museum Milestone: MSI’s Farm Tech Exhibit Turns 20

Don’t miss the Illinois map inside, along with videos that allow you to meet Illinois farmers and explore farms in different Illinois counties.

“I think one of the things that has been really powerful for our guests from Illinois and Missouri is to see themselves represented in the museum in such a meaningful way,” said Earnest.

To make reservations or plan your visit, go to slsc.org/visit/hours. Hear more about what the GROW gallery has to offer here.

See more: Illinois Rural Heritage Museum Honors Rural Roots