Botanical Center to open next week

The Springfield-Greene County Botanical Center will open with a weeklong series of events Oct. 11-Oct. 17.

Events will include hands-on activities for children and adults, horticulture seminars, dedication ceremonies, a national symposium focusing on nature and play and live entertainment, according to a news release. The full event lineup can be found online.

The center, located at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park, 2400 S. Scenic Ave., is a 12,500-square-foot, $4.3 million Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design-Silver building. H Design Group LLC designed the building; R.E. Smith Construction Co. was the general contractor; and the engineers were Mettemeyer Engineering LLC, civil and structural, and Colvin Jones Davis LLC, mechanical, electrical and plumbing, according to Springfield Business Journal coverage.

About $3 million of the funding came from a Greene County sales tax approved by voters in 2006, while the remainder was covered by private funding and city and county support, the article said.

The Springfield-Greene County Park Board owns and operates the building, which features classroom space for outreach programs, a soil and research lab, a two-story atrium, and houses offices for University of Missouri Extension, Friends of the Garden and Park Board Botanical staff, the release said. It also includes an adjacent nature playground.

Long-term plans for the center include 34 indoor and outdoor gardens housing a variety of plant species.

The first effort to raise private funds for the Botanical Center began in 2003, following initial architectural design and estimates, the release said.