In the morning, they mistake the swan boats for real birds, and love the peanuts people throw in their direction. Ready to stay, Mr. Mallard is almost hit by a bicycle. Mrs. Mallard decides the bicycles in the park are too dangerous for baby ducklings, and they end up nesting on an island in the nearby Charles River. Once their ducklings are a bit older, the Mallards go through several adventures returning to live on the little island in the Public Garden lagoon, where you can still see their descendants today.
Make Way for Ducklings is the official children's book of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. To commemorate the story, Nancy Schön created a bronze sculpture of Mrs. Mallard and her eight ducklings—Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack, and Quack—for the Public Garden in 1987. Mrs. Mallard stands 36 inches tall, and the entire cobblestone installation spans 35 feet.
It is said the ducks never need professional polishing because children sit on them so often. It has become a neighborhood tradition to dress up the ducks as well. If you visit during a holiday or while a Boston sports team is in the playoffs, you may see them "dressed" for the occasion!
To log this cache, please include one of the items below in your log (your choice):
- A photo of you or a family member next to Mrs. Mallard
- A photo of your GPS device next to one of the nine ducks
The photo must be yours and taken on your log date, or you risk your log being deleted. You do not need to message me with your photo - please just attach it to your log. Thanks, and enjoy your time in America's first public botanical garden, Boston Public Garden!
Virtual Reward - 2017/2018
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.