Southwest Florida’s Coolest Backyard!
You can find Southwest Florida’s best backyard exclusively at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature. The best part? You don’t even need a password to climb into our Tree House. Let your imagination be your guide on the Cardboard Rocket or explore this play space where kids and families can learn about science and nature!
Our backyard is your backyard!
The Mosaic Backyard Universe is fully ADA accessible and designed for kids of all ages—and grown-ups who are young at heart. From scale models of our solar system and a freshwater pond filled with turtles to a Science Shed and a massive Mighty Oak towering above it all, we have Southwest Florida’s coolest backyard!
Visit today or join the Discovery Society so you can visit for free anytime!
Inside the Mosaic Backyard Universe
This beautiful sculpted tree, made exclusively for The Bishop by NatureMaker Steel Art Trees, is a masterpiece of mimicry with each bit of bark and each individual leaf hand-crafted to mirror the live oaks found in Florida’s fields. Its soaring canopy 30 feet above the ground holds The Tree House-Platform, a play and learning space complete with binoculars and telescopes to view the scale model of the solar system hanging in the ‘sky.’ An ADA-lift ensures everyone can enjoy the view!
Remember that refrigerator box you used to make your own rocket ship when you were a kid? Our Cardboard Rocket takes that to the next level using immersive media that allows kids to take off on virtual adventures of their own, including viewing the microscopic world around us, different places on Earth and, of course, the outer reaches of the universe!
Check out the freshwater Pond, home to living plants and turtles — a mini-environment all its own!
The Science Shed lets kids take learning to the next step by using microscopes and other scientific tools of the trade to explore this fascinating and fun Mosaic Backyard Universe. It’s where you can explore your own interest in astronomy, biology, engineering, geology, or paleontology.