Selby Gardens With Kids: Rope Bridges, Orchids and a Rainforest

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens on Sarasota Bay has a children's rainforest garden made for climbing, exploring and splashing.

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens sits right on Sarasota Bay downtown, and it is famous among scientists for its collection of epiphytes: orchids, bromeliads and other plants that grow on trees instead of in the ground.

For kids, the star is the Ann Goldstein Children's Rainforest Garden. It is built for exploring, with a canopy walkway, a waterfall, a rope bridge, a research station and plenty of hands-on spots where little botanists can touch, look and wonder.

Afterward, walk the bayfront paths under the giant banyan trees and look for mangroves, wading birds and the occasional manatee in the bay. The whole visit fits nicely into a morning, with time for lunch downtown and a nap before the pool.

Selby also runs Historic Spanish Point in Osprey, with ancient shell middens and pioneer homesteads, if your crew wants more.

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