Olbrich Botanical Gardens

06/05/2026

We're excited for Nature Everywhere Weekend! You can celebrate here at the Gardens on both Saturday & Sunday, June 6 & 7, by exploring nature through all your senses. Grab a map in the visitor center and create your own adventure through various Nature Makes Sense challenges in different garden spaces. Complete all challenges for a special prize to take home! All ages welcome.

It’s Nature Everywhere this weekend from June 5-7! Nature Everywhere is a community wide opportunity to get outside and experience the many ways nature supports health, happiness, and connection.

The Nature Everywhere collaborative is a partnership of dozens of community organizations, local government, educational institutions, and nature enthusiasts working to increase equitable access to nature in our community.

See website for a schedule of events happening all over town: https://www.natureeverywheremadison.org/natureeverywhereday

06/04/2026

Calling all Olbrich members! Grab your blankets and lawn chairs—it’s time for Member Movie Night featuring Disney’s Strange World!🎥🍿

The Details:
• When: Friday, June 26, 2026
• Time: Doors open at 6:30 PM | Movie starts at 7:30 PM
• Where: The Great Lawn at Olbrich
• Cost: FREE for Olbrich members!

What’s in Store:
• Complimentary freshly popped popcorn
• Outdoor bar with refreshing beverages available for purchase
• Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream to cool down with a sweet treat
• Carry-in picnics welcomed

Members can RSVP here: olbrich.org/calendar/member-movie-night

Not a member yet? Join today to unlock access to exclusive member events: olbrich.org/membership

06/02/2026

Olbrich Botanical Gardens and Garver Events are teaming up to throw a Summer Breeze Block Party! ☀🎸🎲🌮

Join us for two nights (June 12 & 13) filled with pop-up artmaking activities, classic lawn games, dance parties, and local food cart fare.

Sugar Ave, the bike/pedestrian pathway linking the Gardens to Garver Feed Mill, will transform into a free neighborhood block party vibe featuring food carts and live music hosted by Garver. Grab a bite then head into Olbrich Gardens to continue the party!

Support this fundraiser for Madison’s public garden by paying an admission fee at the Gardens' gates, then sip on a cocktail/mocktail while you play croquet, encounter pop-up performers and danceable DJ beats, and create nature-based art. The evening concludes with Sunburned & Glowing, a curated story slam on the Great Lawn! Soak up the sun, feel the warm summer breeze, and make some memories!

06/01/2026

Three cheers for our June Volunteer of the Month, Karen B.!

Karen joined our Volunteer team in 2003 and since then she's given over 1,650 hours of her time to the gardens! Karen has been a vital member of our education team, spending hundreds of hours helping to support, facilitate, and improve our Youth and Family programs. She's also a major team player and has stepped up to help out other departments and events such as Blooming Butterflies, the Holiday Show, and Thai Fest.

"Karen has been a stable support to the Explorer Field Trip Program and truly cares about connecting kids to nature and plants. She is such a huge help during the field trips with transitions and other logistics to help things run smoothly. She also goes above and beyond to ensure the older students are engaged by altering her lesson for each group. Thanks, Karen for all your amazing and dedicated support for the program over the years!"

"In addition to being instrumental with our Explorer program, Karen has also dedicated much of her time to helping with other Youth and Family programs, such as Little Sprouts. At Little Sprouts, Karen was always ready to jump in checking in participants and creating nametags for them. Karen shared her knowledge and expertise about the Explorer Program and has helped shape the program over the years. I am so grateful for all her time and dedication to youth programs at Olbrich!"

"The Explorer Field Trip program is no joke. Every spring and fall our Explorer volunteers show up day after day to facilitate amazing, memorable, and educational experiences for these groups. Just this past spring alone our Explorer volunteers facilitated a total of 38 field trip sessions and welcomed a total of 1550 K-5th grade students and 473 adults. It can be extremely exhausting, but Karen continues to show up and be a constant not just week to week, but season after season, year after year. It would be truly impossible to do this all without volunteers like Karen!"

Congratulations Karen! It's impossible to imagine what our Education programs would like like without your knowledge, guidance, and dedicated support. Thank you so much!

05/29/2026

Looking for something fun to do at the Gardens in June? 😎 Swipe through to see our upcoming classes and workshops!

05/27/2026

Sunburned & Glowing - Join our Story Slam! 🎤

On June 12 & 13, share your 5-minute tale involving summer escapades, questionable decisions, vacations, first crushes, family reunions, camping disasters, festivals, dancing outside, and moments that left a mark in the best way at Olbrich’s Summer Breeze Block Party story slam.

Local story slam host Danielle Hairston Green guides the storytelling experience from 7-8 p.m. on each date. Seasoned and amateur storytellers welcomed! Submit your one-sentence story pitch by June 4 (link in the comments).

05/23/2026

It's the final weekend to see our spring art exhibit, Tiny and Mighty: Wonders of Insect Life! The exhibit is on view in our lobby 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily through Wednesday, May 27.

Created by artist Jennifer Angus, the installation features a variety of insect specimens arranged in frames, pinned in patterns on the ceiling, and suspended in colorful jelly jars. The space is also adorned with custom wallpaper designs created from large-scale reproductions of original cyanotype prints.

Asked about the use of insects in the design of the installation, here's what the artist had to say:

"Using insects to create the patterns on the wall disrupts the domestic space, a place where many prefer to keep insects out. Admiring these beautiful patterns prompts a shift in perspective causing the observer to rethink how they may negatively perceive insects. Using insects in this fashion creates a vehicle to prompt concern and discussion about the global insect population decline due to pollution, habitat loss, and climate change. "

📷: John Kalson

05/22/2026

Tuesdays are a whole lot sweeter in summer! 🎵

Olbrich After Hours returns on Tuesdays, June 23 – August 11, with eight evenings of live music, summer drinks, food carts, and golden hour vibes in the Gardens.

This summer’s lineup features country-rock, soul-funk, mariachi, Afrobeat, Bollywood, blues, and more:

• June 23 — Adam Greuel & The Space Burritos
• June 30 — The Grand Groove Hotel
• July 7 — Smart Cookie
• July 14 — The Burroughs
• July 21 — Obi Original & The Black Atlantics
• July 28 — Mariachi Monarcas de Milwaukee
• August 4 — Do The Needful
• August 11 — Brandon Santini

Bring a lawn chair, grab a drink, explore the Gardens, and discover your new favorite band.

Admission is free, with a suggested $5 donation supporting performing artists.

Reserve your free tickets now at our website (link in the comments).

05/19/2026

This week is your last chance to stock up on perennials for your garden while supporting Olbrich at the same time! 🪻 Leftover plants from our Perennial Plant Sale will be on display in the lobby for purchase through this weekend (or until sold out).