Created by Henry Shaw and given as a gift to the city of St. Louis, the Missouri Botanical Garden opened to the public in 1859. It combined horticultural display with education and the search for new knowledge.
Today, 158 years after opening, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for science and conservation, education and horticultural display. The Garden provides a wide range of in-person, on-line and professional development resources for the K-12 community.