Gaya Kids
For children · families · schools

In the woods of Gaya

In the heart of a wood of centuries-old olive trees, among trails, living earth and small hand-built shelters, children are welcomed into a slow, authentic and immersive experience. Here time changes rhythm: you listen to the wind in the trees, observe the insects, knead flour, touch clay, build stories.

The path is guided by Rumi, the symbolic guardian of the forest: a gentle presence who accompanies the children in the discovery of the Four Elements and the deep bond between human beings and nature.

For schools → For families →
Gaya children sitting between two olive trees, seen from behind, looking out over the Strait towards Sicily
What Gaya Kids is

An outdoor educational space, where nature is the tool.

Gaya APS — Mondo di Unione has created Gaya Kids as an outdoor educational space dedicated to childhood, where free play, direct experience and the relationship with nature become tools for growth. Here children can get their hands dirty, move freely, explore, observe and create without the pressure of performance.

We believe the forest is an extraordinary educational place: a living environment that teaches attention, autonomy, collaboration, imagination and care.

The activities come from a simple, concrete vision.

Respect for nature

Natural and reclaimed materials

Waste reduction

Seasonality and territory

Authentic, slow, sensory experiences

Every workshop is designed to leave room for wonder, for discovery, and for the child's personal expression.

"Whoever takes care of Nature
takes care of their own heart." — The Secret of Gaya's Wood

The Secret of Gaya's Wood →
Gaya Kids natural playground
The park

Three thousand square metres of real play.

Built on site, with materials from the place.

Gaya Kids unfolds across an area of about 3,000 m² immersed in an olive grove. The spaces have been designed and built with natural materials, self-construction and integration with the environment. Here you won't find standardised toys or plastic structures, but places designed to stimulate imagination, movement, creativity and real contact with the natural elements.

Among the spaces of the park:

Entomologist's Den — a small superadobe dome built in raw earth during an official Cal-Earth workshop, inspired by the technique developed by Nader Khalili. An intimate space dedicated to free play, observation of the wood, moments of quiet and activities for the youngest.
Earth Blackboard — a free expression space where children can draw, leave marks, write and experiment spontaneously.
Balance Paths — built with natural elements, they support coordination, body awareness and trust in one's own abilities.
Mud Kitchen — one of the spaces children love most, where symbolic and autonomous play comes alive through water, earth, leaves, seeds and simple tools. Here children invent, collaborate, transform natural materials and build personal narratives without preset schemes.
Rumi's journey

The Four Elements as an educational experience.

Gaya Kids activities draw on the Four Elements — Earth, Water, Air and Fire — as a symbolic language to accompany children in discovering the natural world. Each element is paired with a guide animal and a main workshop, designed as an immersive and symbolic experience. Alongside this, children can meet many other hands-on, creative and sensory activities.

Guide animal

Earth

The Wild Boar with the muddy snout

Earth speaks of roots, footprints, transformation. Children touch, dig, knead and leave traces of their passage.

Main workshop · Leave your trace
An experience inspired by the notebook Create with Gaya, where natural elements, clay, woodland textures and pigments become expressive tools. Each child makes unique traces with hands, leaves, seeds and materials gathered in nature.

In the world of Earth there's also room for:

little farmer · sowing · clay treasures · natural herbarium · mud kitchen

Guide animal

Air

The Owl with moonlit eyes

Air accompanies movement, imagination and direction. It is the breath of the wood, the wind in the trees, the lightness of things built with patience.

Main workshop · Kite making
Children make small kites using simple, natural and recycled materials, experimenting with wind, balance and movement in open space.

In the world of Air there's also room for:

natural beeswax candles · workshop of light and lantern-making · orienteering in the wood · the Gaya Bee

Guide animal

Fire

The Fox with fur the colour of sunset

Fire tells of warmth, energy and the ancient shared gestures. It is the element of transformation: what changes shape through time, heat and waiting.

Main workshop · Fire-lighting techniques
An experiential activity in which children discover fire as an ancestral element, learning respect, attention and care through simple guided practices.

In the world of Fire there's also room for:

bread-making · biscuits in the wood-fired oven · seasonal preparations · experiences linked to the woodland kitchen

Guide animal

Water

The Fawn with slender legs

Water accompanies delicacy, flow and the ability to slowly transform things. The activities for this element invite listening, care and sensory experimentation.

Main workshop · Watercolours with natural pigments
Children create colours starting from plant elements, spices, earths and flowers, experimenting with painting as a natural, sensory experience.

In the world of Water there's also room for:

carded wool · natural soap · from the garden to the table · small seasonal woodland creations

The five rules of Gaya Kids.

Play and
feel free

Have fun
with the earth

Get dirty
without fear

Stay
barefoot

Love and respect
nature

Who · When · What

For schools

  • Nursery and Pre-school (4–5 years)
  • Primary (6–11 years)
  • Lower secondary
  • April to October
  • By booking
  • Maximum 35 children/day
Book a visit →

For families

  • Children 3–11 years
  • Weekends set in the calendar
  • Themed Family Days
  • Hours 10:00 → 17:30
  • Shuttle service from the village
Come with us →

What we do

  • 3,000 m² natural playground
  • Entomologist's Den (Cal-Earth dome)
  • Mud Kitchen, sowing, ceramics
  • Bread-making, beeswax candles
  • Herbarium, carded wool, pigments
  • Guided narrated trails
Workshops by element →
How much

Rates.

Rates per child, per day. The fees are collected by the APS as participation in the educational programme.

Age range Packed lunch Gaya lunch
0 – 11 months free free*
12 – 35 months 10€ 18€
3 – 14 years 18€ 25€
Children with disabilities free 7€
Accompanying adult 3€ 25€
Adult with disabilities free 10€

*Lunch at the parent's expense.
Large families: third child 10€, free from the fourth.

Cover of the book "The Secret of Gaya's Wood — Rumi's Journey" by Valentina Palco and Asia Carbone
Cover of the notebook "Create with Gaya" by Valentina Palco and Asia Carbone
The book and the notebook

The book to read.
The notebook to do.

Written by Valentina Palco and illustrated by Asia Carbone

The book was born at Gaya. It is the mythological-narrative foundation of Gaya Kids, and it can be taken home after the day: the experience continues in the classroom, in bed, under the blankets in the evening.

Together with the book we also give you Create with Gaya, the activity notebook: seven workshops to do at home with simple, reusable materials. Four for the Four Elements of Rumi's wood (a kite for Air, an engraved earth tile, the fire-box with embers, natural colours for Water), a children's yoga sequence, the recipe for nature bread, and the hand-stitched pouch for collecting the woodland treasures. So the journey doesn't end on the trail — it continues in the kitchen, in the garden, on the table.

Request the book and notebook →

Want to come with your children?

Write or call Valentina, the Gaya Kids contact.
We reply within 24 hours with available dates and all the practical information.

+39 348 28 90 190 gayabimbi@gmail.com

Valentina Palco · Gaya Kids contact