Tove Jansson’s Moominvalley takes root in the Bronx

The world of the Moomins expands into the gardens and pathways of the The New York Botanical Garden with Summer of Moomin, a seasonal activation that translates Tove Jansson’s literary universe into a landscape of outdoor installations. Running from May 23rd through September 13th, 2026, the project lands at the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden as part of NYBG’s wider Flower Power exhibition.

The project encourages visitors to slow down and spend more time outdoors together, whether wandering through the garden, following clues, or simply pausing among the plants and pathways. In many ways, that feeling has always been central to Tove Jansson’s work. Beneath the eccentric creatures and adventurous plots, her stories pay close attention to the small things: changing weather, quiet moments, shared walks, and the emotional closeness that can grow when people experience nature side by side.

Summer of Moomin at New York Botanical Garden | all images by Marlon Co., courtesy the New York Botanical Garden

wandering through nature with the Moomins

Created by Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson in 1945, the Moomins occupy a singular place in children’s literature, bringing together whimsy with existential tenderness and attention to the natural world. Across novels, comics, illustrations, and later adaptations, Jansson built Moominvalley as a place full of curiosity, melancholy, adventure, and ecological awareness. In her stories, nature is a living emotional environment shaping the characters’ relationships and rhythms of life.

That sensibility informs the New York activation, which uses the existing landscape of the botanical garden. Visitors move through clue-based quests, hands-on craft workshops, and oversized character encounters. One of the central experiences, The Mystery in Moominvalley, encourages children and families to navigate the space, echoing the wandering logic of Jansson’s books.

NYBG’s Flower Power exhibition revisits the visual language of the 1960s and 70s, framing flowers as symbols of optimism, resistance, and collective imagination. The Moomins enter that context naturally, as Jansson’s stories, written in the aftermath of war and throughout periods of personal and social uncertainty, repeatedly return to ideas of refuge, coexistence, and emotional openness. Their landscapes are lush and playful, but also fragile and deeply tied to seasonal change.

installations recreate the calm and curiosity at the center of the Moomin stories

visitors encounter Moomin characters resting among flowers and trees

Little My and Snufkin appear among oversized flowers

scenes inspired by Moominvalley and its seasonal rhythms

entrance to Summer of Moomin at the Everett Children’s Adventure Garden

Snufkin’s tent introduces educational activities connected to plants, insects, and outdoor exploration

a small outdoor theater encourages children to engage with storytelling and nature through play

quotes from the Moomin stories invite visitors to pause and observe nature

project info:

name: Summer of Moomin

location: Everett Children’s Adventure Garden at The New York Botanical Garden | @nybg

dates: May 23rd – September 13th, 2026

organizers: Moomin | @moominofficial, The New York Botanical Garden

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