SENSORY-FRIENDLY EVENING
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 | 6–8PM
(Rain date: July 29)
Tuesday, July 22, 2025 | 6–8PM
(Rain date: July 29)
In partnership with Autism Resource Center, we invite individuals and families seeking a low-sensory, less crowded environment for a night of fun, exploration, and relaxation. Explore the gardens after hours and enjoy designated quiet spaces, art projects, scavenger hunts, and more hands-on activities for all ages.
Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance.
Ticketed entry times are at 6pm and 6:30pm.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Visitors should expect a walking experience that is mostly outdoors through roughly 16 acres of formal gardens and surrounding woodlands.
Stay tuned for our Sensory-Friendly Evening Social Narrative.
Click here to view our Garden and Visitors Center maps.
An information station, located in the lobby/check-in area of the Visitors Center, will provide maps of the gardens and Visitors Center highlighting where event activities are located, as well as a schedule of activities for the evening.
Roam our outdoor gardens and trails in a low-sensory, less crowded environment. The outdoor experience includes all our formal gardens and trails as indicated on this map. Visitors will also get to enjoy fun lawn games and interactive sensory stations in the Winter Garden. Please note that some gardens may have more fragrant plants than others. Additionally, you might see and hear birds, insects, and other wildlife throughout the property.
Take a break and relax in the Southeast Link and Classroom A/B which will be designated quiet spaces during this evening. Quiet art activities and sensory toys will be available in these spaces. The Southeast Link is an open space with large windows and a tiled floor. Classroom A/B is a large, open, carpeted space. Both spaces will be set up with tables, chairs, and bean bag chairs.
Use our themed scavenger hunts to guide your experience and further explore the gardens! There will be fun options for all ages to enjoy. Scavenger hunts will be available in the Northwest Link and can be taken with you around the gardens during your visit. All scavenger hunts will be laminated and placed on clipboards with dry erase markers available to use to check items off.
Get creative in the Ramble with fun art projects and collaborative art activities for all ages, including sponge stamp printmaking, coloring, and chalk drawing. The Ramble is an open, outdoor garden for play and immersive activities designed to spark the imagination. Art activities will be set up on picnic tables under a covered Pavilion.
Located in the Limonaia conservatory, learn basic watercolor techniques and use nature to inspire your paintings! The Limonaia is a bright, echoey space due to its glass ceilings and surrounding windows.
Have A Question?
Visitors who are unable to use the online ticketing system can reserve tickets by calling our Visitor Services staff at 508-869-6111 daily 9am-5pm.
The time on your ticket is an arrival window. Please plan to arrive to New England Botanic Garden during that arrival window.
This event runs from 6-8pm. Ticketed entrance times indicate your arrival window for the event. Once you have arrived, you are welcome to stay and explore the gardens until the event ends at 8pm.
We have a large, well-lit parking lot on site. There is no charge for parking.
Accessible parking is located closest to the building in the first parking lot on the right. You can learn more about accessibility at the Garden here.
If you choose to use Uber, Lyft, or another taxi service, please note that our entry gate on French Drive will close automatically for arriving vehicles at the end of the event. Please plan to be picked up before the event ends at 8pm.
After parking your vehicle in our parking lots, proceed up the path into the Visitors Center. Please have your ticket/confirmation email printed or available to show on your phone for our front desk staff to check you in. Most confirmation emails arrive within minutes, but if it has been over 24 hours and you have checked your spam folders, our Visitor Services staff are happy to assist you when you call 508-869-6111 daily from 9am–5pm.
We anticipate around 300 people attending, spread out over the duration of the event. Visitors will be staggered across different arrival times to prevent overcrowding and to make for a better visitor experience.
The indoor facilities are all accessible. This includes the Orangerie and Limonaia conservatories, Classroom A/B, the Northwest Link, and the Southeast Link. We have several wheelchairs available to borrow on a first-come, first-served basis. There are outdoor gardens which are accessible in clear weather but which may be challenging in rainy weather. These include the Garden Within Reach, Lawn Garden, Winter Garden, Entry Garden, and the Ramble.
Most confirmation e-mail arrive within minutes, but if it has been over 24 hours and you have checked your spam folders, our Visitor Services staff are happy to assist you by calling 508-869-6111 daily 9am-5pm.
The majority of this event is outdoors, with some activities happening in our indoor spaces. Visitors should dress in comfortable shoes and clothing for walking around the gardens and trails.
In consideration of individuals who may have a fear of dogs or other animals, only service animals as defined by the American Disabilities Act (ADA) will be admitted for this Sensory-Friendly Evening.
No, the Garden Shop will not be open during this event.
The Farmer and the Fork café will not be open during this event. New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill welcomes picnicking throughout the grounds at our scattered tables or you may spread a blanket on any mown grassy area. Indoor tables are also available in the Café and Northeast Link (a small room on the east side of the Orangerie).
Please remember to bring your reusable water bottle. In an effort to be more sustainable, we do not sell single-use plastic bottles of water. Drinking fountains are available near all restrooms and a bottle filler is available near the main restrooms.
Our Sensory-Friendly Evening has a rain date scheduled for July 29, 2025, 6-8pm. If the forecast is showing inclement weather for July 22, New England Botanic Garden may decide to reschedule the event to the rain date. If so, you will be notified by email about the reschedule by 2pm on July 22.
If you are no longer able to attend the event, please notify our Registrar at registrar@nebg.org so that we can release those tickets for other visitors to reserve. If you would like to reschedule your tickets to another entry timeslot that is still available for this event, you may call 508-869-6111 to request to have your tickets transferred.
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