Let’s Go Play in the Backyard!

The San José Children’s Discovery Museum’s new “Bill’s Backyard: A Bridge to Nature” features the tree house, dig pit and free play of our childhood dreams. It’s 27,500 sq. ft. of a good time! 

A Junior Ranger Station (with green roof) offers maps, fossils, touchable animal skeletons and realistic animal puppets. Kids can jump on and from things, climb trees and rocks, build shelters with reeds and branches, scurry through sky bridge tunnels (getting a whole new perspective on the world), and scoop gravel, twigs, sand, dirt and water—just like you would do in a backyard. They’ll find life-size bronze animals scattered throughout the area. There’s also a hands-on flower and vegetable garden and an area for programmed activities. A 7,200-gallon rain harvest system irrigates and provides water to the water play area. 

The Backyard brings the joys of nature and outdoor play to kids too often glued to screens, especially in an urban environment like San José with limited safe outdoor areas. And it’s meant to create a spark in kids and their parents to venture out more to parks, trails and wilderness areas.