Woodmere's Outdoor Wonder

WOW! Woodmere’s Outdoor Wonder is an experience of outdoor sculpture in the context of nature and the environmental features of the Museum's grounds. WOW includes sculpture by significant artists as well as monumental estate trees of the 19th century, a pollinator garden, a rot road, and contemporary stormwater-management features such as a bioswale and step pools. Woodmere continues to develop and integrate the experience of these features across our grounds in a manner that brings art in conversation with environmental science and horticultural interest.

Scroll down to see the WOW Sculpture and Nature highlights below to learn more. When visiting the museum, use the camera feature on your smartphone to scan QR codes and follow the trail. Click here to open the WOW Interactive Map, which provides an immersive and interactive experience with Woodmere’s Outdoor Wonder.

Landscape Project at Woodmere

With great thanks to the William B. Dietrich Foundation, a landscape project within WOW, Woodmere’s Outdoor Wonder, was recently completed. The project was designed by Andropogon Associates, a landscape architecture firm renowned internationally for holistic approaches to landscape and ecosystem preservation. This included enlarging the pollinator garden, installing two new statues by Walter Erlebacher, expanding the all-natural, rot-road path with ADA compliance for classroom accessibility, and adding a nature-based amphitheater. And at the heart of WOW now lies The Frances M. Maguire Outdoor Classroom which was generously funded by The Maguire Foundation. The classroom, along with the amphitheater, will provide a magnificent space for outdoor classes, concerts, programs, and special gatherings.

This project is made possible by the generosity of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Honorable Tom Wolf, Governor; the William B. Dietrich Foundation; the Maguire Foundation; and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Financing Authority.