Science garden reopens with outdoor activities after NIS 120 million renovation

Following a 5-year renovation, the Science Garden in Rehovot reopens in July, featuring 13 acres of interactive and educational exhibits.

  (photo credit: IDO KENAN)
(photo credit: IDO KENAN)

Following a five-year renovation costing approximately NIS 120 million, the Science Garden in Rehovot is reopening to the public. Covering an area of about 13 acres, this innovative space features a range of interactive exhibits designed for both play and learning.

The Science Garden, named after Clore, was established by the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Davidson Institute of Science Education (the educational arm of the Weizmann Institute), and the Clore Israel Foundation. Even with its reopening, additional sections will be constructed over the next three years.

The garden invites children and adults alike to explore the world of science through various activities, exhibits, and hands-on experiences. It consists of nine distinct areas, each with facilities for play, exploration, enjoyment, and learning.

  (credit: Yosef Cohen)
(credit: Yosef Cohen)

Among the garden’s areas:

Heritage Square: Located at the entrance, this open area showcases several exhibits that reflect the spirit and legacy of the garden, honoring the visionaries who established its guiding principles. Exhibits include a xylophone-like structure, a giant wave, Earth representations, various-sized bubbles, a whirlpool, a glitter wall, a chaos pendulum, and more.

Everything is Alive: This captivating area allows visitors to climb inside a massive exhibit of the human body, towering three stories high.

Everything Grows: This section teaches how robots tend to garden beds, lets visitors smell aromatic herbs, and see vegetables grown without soil.

Everything Codes: In this interactive space, participants engage in a giant cooperative coding game where they program the movement of water, sounds of music, visuals, and colors.

Everything Earth: How can we protect our planet? This area encourages observation of the sky, cloud movements, exploration of water depths, climbing to tree tops via a bamboo structure, walking on a spider web network, encountering a living system in an ecological pond, and enjoying a sensory path interacting directly with the earth, trees, and water.

Everything Brain: How does the brain deceive us? The brain, humanity’s most complex machine, governs emotions, organ functions, and acts as the body’s commander. This area features optical illusions, explores how they occur, examines brain capabilities through mathematical sculptures, and includes a Japanese garden linking mind and body to help decipher the phrase “it’s all in your head.”

Everything Water: Flowing between and within the areas is a stream, leading to an ecological pond. Visitors can learn about the properties of water flow and how we can influence it.

Admission Prices: NIS 68-78. Tickets can be purchased in advance on the website: https://gan-hamada.davidson.org.il