As the sun makes flowers grow, several programs at Reiman Gardens are stimulating children’s imaginations.

Each week during the summer, there are several different children’s programs going on, said Teresa McLaughlin, program manager for the gardens.

“Essentially there are three different programs going on this summer for children,” said Jessica Farmer, senior in horticulture. Farmer is one of the two students managing of the programs.

Farmer and Jessica Rohrig, senior in agricultural education, are employed as part of a federal grant obtained by faculty members, McLaughlin said.

“Part of the grant is to assist students in educational programming,” she said. “Hopefully the funding will be renewed for next year so that these programs can continue.”

“One program is `Kids’ Garden Adventures,’ which is every Tuesday and Saturday and uses garden themes for educational purposes,” Farmer said.

The other two types of programs are the blooming bud tours and story time. The tours are for school classes, day cares and any other kind of group that wants to sign up for a tour, Farmer said. Story time takes place every other Thursday. After staff members read a few books, the children do hands-on activities like making crafts.

“Last week there was a caterpillar theme for story time,” McLaughlin said. “After reading a few books about caterpillars, the kids made their own caterpillars and drew roses.”

The theme for the “Kids’ Garden Adventures” on Saturday was “Fabulous Flowers.”

“For a $3 fee, kids could come and take part in different stations dealing with flowers,” Farmer said. Some of the activities included decorating a flower pot and discussing pollination.

Abby Ubben, junior in horticulture, volunteered at one of Saturday’s sessions. She said it was fun to see the children come around.

“One little girl was really into pollination and how it worked,” she said.

“The more involved they are, the more they learn,” said Heidi Allen, mother of 4-year-old Madison who was taking part in the programs. “It is a really fun way for them to learn.”

Another mother, Brenda Theoret, also said it was a great way for her daughter, 6-year-old Logan, to make friends.

“The classes filled up so quickly that her friends that wanted to take part in it weren’t able to,” she said. “At the story time she made friends quickly and thought that was pretty great.”

Logan said her favorite part of Saturday’s “Fabulous Flowers” was making a rose coaster.

The Tuesday programs are open to first through fifth graders, and Saturday programs are for all ages.

The feedback from the public has been positive, McLaughlin said.

“One of the nicest things we can offer is the exposure to horticulture,” she said. “Kids get very excited about flowers and bugs and we have lots of them out here.”