Botanic Garden's Halloween fest is a treat

While ladybugs and butterflies are part of the natural fauna at the Chicago Botanic Garden, dinosaurs are not.

Yet dinosaur Noah Sloat, 3, was among the costumed creatures who joined the fun Saturday during the "Trains, Tricks & Treats" Halloween event at the botanic garden's Model Railroad Garden.

Noah watched closely as a model train engine narrowly missed hitting its caboose as it circled a curve at top speed.

"We enjoy the trains and come to the garden a couple of times a year," said Noah's dad, Willis Sloat of Glenview. "It's even more fun at Halloween."

Noah was one of about 1,200 children expected to trick-or-treat this weekend at the Botanic Garden in Glencoe.

The Model Railroad Garden was decked out for Halloween with spider webs, spiders, ghosts, goblins and pumpkins. Volunteer Joyce Stemp -- wearing an engineer's cap -- and four other volunteers joined in the fun by passing out candy, temporary tattoos and glow-in-the-dark wristbands.

Families also could pot a Mimosa pudica -- known as a TickleMe plant because its leaves curl when touched -- to take home.

Sixteen-month-old Lorelei DiSanto, outfitted as a ladybug, ran along the trail through the 7,500-square-foot garden.

"She seems to love it. We are members, but we've never come to the train garden before. We usually come to see the roses in summer, but when I heard about this, we thought we would check it out," Loli DiSanto said. The DiSantos drove from downtown Chicago to attend.

Now in its third year, Trains, Tricks & Treats is targeted for children younger than 5, said Eileen Prendergast, family programs coordinator. "It's non-threatening and fun," she said.

More than 1,000 feet of track support seven G-gauge model trains that chug by replicas including Mount Rushmore, a Badlands dinosaur dig, Wrigleyville, Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater and his home and studio in Oak Park.

The trains put on about 22,000 miles during the season and run at top speed during Trains, Tricks & Treats, chief engineer Dave Rodelius said.

The fun continues from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today at the Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe. While admission to the botanic garden is free, the admission to the Model Railroad Garden is $5 for adults and $3 for children. There also is a $10 parking charge per car.