ALEXANDRIA
— Several kids earned their green thumbs on Tuesday, June 24, during the
Legacy of Lakes Museum’s
Kid’s Planting Day.
During two different sessions – one in the morning from 10 to 11 a.m. and another in the afternoon from 1 to 2p.m. – kids in grades 1-5 not only got to plant flowers in the
Legacy Gardens
, they also colored a color book page of a flower, learned about the different parts of a flower and how they grow, planted their own flowers and took a nature walk and/or a museum tour.
Three Alexandria boys, from left, Aaron Knutson, Malachi Preston and Brady McCleary, take part in the Kid’s Planting Day at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum’s Legacy Gardens.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
The class was led by Kaci Johnson, associate director of the Legacy of the Lakes Museum, and Debbie Hoven, a volunteer with the museum who has helped lead classes for a number of years.
The flowers planted by the kids are part of the Legacy Gardens Children’s Garden. Kids were encouraged to visit the museum all summer to watch their hard work pay off as their flowers grow and flourish. The gardens planted by the kids have a plaque that reads: “Children’s Garden. Thank you for helping us bloom. This bed planted by area youth.”
While learning about the different parts of a flower, Malachi Preston, 7 and a half, from Alexandria, puts leaves on the giant flower Kaci Johnson used as her teaching tool. Johnson, associate director at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum, led the Kid’s Planting Day at the museum on Tuesday, June 24.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
While learning about how flowers grow, Brady McCleary, 6, from Alexandria, jumps up to put the sun on top of the giant flower Kaci Johnson used as her teaching tool. Johnson, associate director at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum, led the Kid’s Planting Day at the museum on Tuesday, June 24.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
While learning about how flowers grow, Aaron Knutson, 6, from Alexandria, adds water to the giant flower Kaci Johnson used as her teaching tool. Johnson, associate director at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum, led the Kid’s Planting Day at the museum on Tuesday, June 24.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
Debbie Hoven shows Aaron Knutson and Malachi Preston where to plant their flowers during the Legacy of the Lakes Kid’s Planting Day.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
Armani Gonzalez, 13, of Alexandria, plants flowers during the Kid’s Planting Day in the Legacy of the Lakes Museum’s Legacy Garden.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
Kaci Johnson, associate director of the Legacy of the Lakes Museum, helps Aaron Knutson, water the flowers he just planted as Malachi Preston, middle, and Brady McCleary watch. The kids took part in the museum’s Kid’s Planting Day on Tuesday, June 24, 2025.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
Four of the kids, who took part in Kid’s Planting Day at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum, hold their gardening tools up high after helping to plant flowers in the Legacy Garden. The kids are, front from left, Malachi Preston, Brady McCleary and Aaron Knutson, all from Alexandria, and, back, Armani Gonzalez, also from Alexandria.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
Malachi Preston, 7 and a half, plants some flowers to take home during the Kid’s Planting Day at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum in Alexandria. Watching him were Aaron Knutson, 6, middle, and Brady McCleary, 6. All three are from Alexandria. Helping them was Kaci Johnson, the museum’s associate director.
Celeste Edenloff / Alexandria Echo Press
Celeste Edenloff is the special projects editor and a reporter for the Alexandria Echo Press. She has lived in the Alexandria Lakes Area since 1997. She first worked for the Echo Press as a reporter from 1999 to 2011, and returned in 2016 to once again report on the community she calls home.