Families are being invited to the award-winning Sky Garden in Warrington for a close encounter with a host of animals.
Youngsters can meet and learn about ponies, sheep, lambs, goats, tortoises, ducks, guinea pigs, rabbits and even giant African land snails when Sky Garden at Golden Square is transformed into a mini zoo for the day.
The Animal Encounter event will take place on Thursday, 20 August, between 10.30am and 2.30pm and is free to attend.
Little explorers will also be given bug pots and magnifying glasses so they can search for smaller creatures in the garden, before wrapping up the day with some animal-themed crafts.
Sky Garden’s Animal Encounter follows the success of an Eco Arts Day in 2025 when three alpacas visited the rooftop site.
The upcoming event has been made possible thanks to a £20,000 grant from the National Lottery Community Fund to expand its offer and host more family-friendly activities.
Amanda Moore is Culture Warrington’s Education and Sustainability Officer, and leads on the Sky Garden project.
She said: “It was a big hit last year when alpacas visited Sky Garden, so we’ve been really keen to do something like that again for 2026.
“We’re working with the lovely team at All Creatures Animal Experience and it’s part of our mission to encourage people to engage more with the natural world.
“We hope families love meeting the animals – some of which have links with our galleries at Warrington Museum – and I’m particularly looking forward to seeing the giant African land snail!”
Sky Garden was launched by arts charity Culture Warrington and Golden Square shopping centre in 2022 as a living addition to Warrington Museum’s natural history offer.
The aim was to improve biodiversity in the town centre, show what’s possible with even the smallest green space and to provide a space for educational projects and community activities.
Animal Encounter takes place at Sky Garden on Thursday, 20 August, between 10.30am and 2.30pm. It is a free, drop-in event with no booking required.
To find Sky Garden, use the lift or stairs near Starbucks to go to the top floor of Golden Square’s car park. Go out of the double doors on the roof and head out, then bear right towards the grey building. The garden is behind this.
