Road Trip: Philadelphia's Magic Gardens (Philadelphia, PA)

Ever since Darcy blogged about Philadelphia's Magic Gardens yeaaaaars ago I knew that I wanted to go there. A few weeks ago during a girls' weekend in the city, I got the opportunity to do just that and to take Gus along.

The Magic Gardens is an outdoor art installation featuring sprawling mosaics made by artist Isaiah Zagar. The mosaics are made up of bits of broken plates and tile, mirror, and ceramic cast by Zagar himself. At first it seems like total chaos, but after a while you realize that the flow of the mosaics highlight different aspects of the artist's life, his marriage and friendships, his feelings about himself. Altogether the space spans several different levels and is twisty turny. We went through the exhibit several times and saw something new on each turn. NOTE: there is a lot of nudity to see, as Zagar seemed to enjoy depicting it very much! Something to keep in mind based on your comfort level with this subject matter.

I especially liked the Magic Gardens because the little ones could enjoy it even without knowing all this backstory. They loved creeping up and down the stairs and popping into the little cubbies and hideyholes all over the place. For older kids, the staff has arranged a scavenger hunt, and I wished so hard Anouk was there to help me find each little bitty shard.








Besides the outdoor space there was an interior gallery with more examples of Zagar's (non-mosaic) work and a small but awesome gift store.

The Magic Gardens has a ton of family friendly events including mosaic workshops, twilight events, and hands on family fun. If you're local or planning a trip, click here for more info.