To celebrate the newly upgraded courtyard at Children's Museum Tucson, families are invited to a free day at the museum on Sunday, May 15.

The latest addition to the courtyard, The Butterfly Garden, is an installation of tile butterflies and beads that memorializes children who lost their lives during the Holocaust. Each butterfly carries a child's name. 

Families who visited the museum, as well as Holocaust survivors, painted the butterflies. 

It's part of a global program that uses the lessons of the Holocaust to teach tolerance and is dedicated to Kelsey Luria, who died from cancer in 2015 at the age of 18.

Beads of Courage, which supplied the beads, will be at the museum from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Another highlight of the courtyard is Andra's Garden, which is full of flowers and veggies that will be used at Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails. The garden includes a bench and fountain and is dedicated to Andra Dalrymple, who died of a heart condition at the age of 12. 

Lastly, the Music Garden, which was completed this spring, includes three xylophones, a contrabass and drums for the kids to play on. 

There's also a rock wall, suspension bridge and a tunnel to play on in the Discovery Garden. 


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Contact Angela Pittenger at 573-4137 or apitteng@tucson.com. On Twitter: @CentsibleMama