Children's Excitement Soars to the St. Louis Treetops This Summer with ''Exploring Trees Inside and Out'' at Missouri Botanical Garden

The "Gateway of the West” welcomes a new educational adventure this summer as the "Exploring Trees Inside and Out” traveling museum exhibit plants its roots at the world-renowned Missouri Botanical Garden. This three-year environmental education project encourages kids of all ages to explore the beauty of the great outdoors through the incredible wonders of trees. The exhibit opens to the public on Saturday, May 24 and will remain at the Garden’s Brookings Interpretive Center, inside the Climatron conservatory, through Labor Day Weekend. Presented by Doubletree Hotels and developed by the Arbor Day Foundation and the Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, the spacious, 2,500-square-foot exhibit is designed to create a better understanding among children ages 2 to 10 about the significant role trees play in the environment. A variety of inventive and interactive elements allow children to explore trees in a multi-sensory way never before possible through its fun-packed and educational components. For example, children will be able to: Sit inside a giant leaf and be surrounded by the light, sound, and sensation of photosynthesis Help a seed "grow” into a young oak inside a huge acorn Explore the "heart” of a tree trunk and move the "blood” of the tree up and down its "veins” Smell scents from various trees, guess what they might be, then discover just a few of the many products we get from trees Crawl through a log and experience it as a habitat for other living things Hear the sounds of animals that live in trees, and even become a forest creature in a "green screen” experience that allows children to fly like a bird and soar over the treetops "Perch” in a larger-than-life bird’s nest and play among the nest’s eggs and sticks The Garden is the first botanical garden to showcase "Exploring Trees Inside and Out” Traveling exhibit after a successful premiere at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle this Spring. "Exploring Trees Inside and Out” is part of Doubletree’s latest effort to help raise environmental awareness among children – inspiring and empowering a new generation of children to take simple steps toward conserving and preserving the earth’s natural resources. Following St. Louis, the exhibit will continue to the Orlando Science Center in Florida this October. The exhibit will travel to several of the top science centers and children’s museums across the U.S. through the end of 2010. "Doubletree Hotels and the Arbor Day Foundation have worked together to encourage kids and adults of all ages about the importance of trees in our everyday lives. As a result, we’ve proudly helped to plant more than 200,000 trees in cities across North America during the past five years,” said Mary Beth Parks, vice president – brand marketing for Doubletree Hotels. "'Exploring Trees Inside and Out' is a natural extension of this growing relationship, which we hope will inspire thousands of people in St. Louis and cities across America to get out and explore the natural wonders outside their front doors.” In addition to sponsoring Exploring Trees Inside and Out, Doubletree continues to grow its role in environmental education and awareness programs through various collaborations with organizations such as the Arbor Day Foundation. Since 2002, Doubletree has helped educate and inspire more than 100,000 elementary school students in communities across the U.S. and Canada about the importance of trees and being eco-conscious through its "Teaching Kids to CARE program.” "The Arbor Day Foundation developed the Exploring Trees Inside and Out traveling museum exhibit with Dimensions Educational Research Foundation in the hopes that people leave with a greater understanding and appreciation of trees,” according to chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation, John Rosenow. "We are appreciative that Doubletree Hotels has become the exclusive sponsor of this three-year project that will continue to educate children and adults on the important role that nature plays in our everyday lives.” The Missouri Botanical Garden is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Grounds open at 7 a.m. every Wednesday and Saturday. The two-acre Children’s Garden, located next to the Brookings Interpretive Center, also remains open until 7 p.m. on Wednesdays from Memorial Day until Labor Day. The tree exhibit is included with Garden admission: $8 for adults and free for children age 12 and under (St. Louis City and County adults $4, seniors $2). For more information about the everyday importance of trees and the "Exploring Trees Inside and Out” museum exhibit, please visit www.doubletree.com/thinktrees. About Doubletree Hotels With a growing collection of contemporary, upscale accommodations in more than 160 gateway cities, metropolitan areas and vacation destinations throughout the U.S., Canada and Latin America, Doubletree Hotels, Guest Suites and Resorts are distinctively designed properties that provide true comfort to today’s business and leisure travelers. From the millions of delighted hotel guests who are welcomed with the brand’s legendary, warm chocolate chip cookies at check-in to the advantages of the award-winning Hilton HHonors® guest reward program, each Doubletree guest receives a satisfying stay wherever their travels take them. To make reservations at any Doubletree hotel, travelers can visit our website at www.doubletree.com, contact their preferred travel professional or call 1-800-222-TREE in the U.S. and Canada. About the Arbor Day Foundation The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation and education organization of nearly one million members, with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at www.arborday.org. About the Missouri Botanical Garden The Missouri Botanical Garden’s mission is "to discover and share knowledge about plants and their environment, in order to preserve and enrich life.” Today, 149 years after opening, the Missouri Botanical Garden is a National Historic Landmark and a center for science, conservation, education and horticultural display. The Missouri Botanical Garden is located at 4344 Shaw Blvd. in St. Louis, just south of Interstate 44 at the Vandeventer -Kingshighway exit. (Note: A section of the I-64/U.S. 40 highway is under construction through 2009. Before traveling, check www.thenewi64.org for updates. Go to www.GetAroundStL.com for other helpful information.) Park for free on site and two blocks west at the Shaw-Vandeventer intersection. The Garden is easily accessible by taking the MetroLink commuter rail line to the Central West End station and picking up a Metro bus (www.metrostlouis.org). For general information, log on to www.mobot.org or call the 24-hour Garden Line recording at (314) 577-9400 or 1-800-642-8842. For membership information, call (314) 577-5118 during weekday business hours. The Missouri Botanical Garden is a tobacco-free environment.