Hello! Here on the farm, summer seems to have flown by and fall will soon be here! Either of our Animal Tours or Pumpkin Patch Tour is a wonderful way to celebrate it! Tours begin on September 25, 2024 and run through November 4, 2024. Some of you have toured our farm in the past; others of you are new to us. Please let me take a minute to explain our farm: My husband, John, is a 5th generation farmer here on our farm. The farm started in 1863 by his ancestors. It is rich with farming history. We are a large Animal Farm. We grow pumpkins, general grains crops, and hay. We are inspected and licensed by USDA-APHIS for our animals.
We offer 3 Unique Tour Options to Choose From!!
OPTION ONE: Recommended for Pre-K through 3rd Grade!
Animal Tour One:
The Students interact with the full grown animals in their natural settings. The highlight of this tour is each student gets to MILK ONE OF OUR DAIRY COWS! They are live cows NOT replicas! Students feed and pet our animals including: Our goat families on the Goat Mountain, our sheep, our farm pig "Miss Lulu Belle" and our rescued pot bellied pigs.They will feed some of the many chickens, ducks, geese, pheasants and peacocks that roam freely here on the farm. Our Fallow Deer family will be waiting to eat out of the children´s hands! The children will also be able to hold bunnies, ducklings, and chicks. Fiona, our donkey, looks forward to greeting the students with a big "EeeeAwwwww!" Our llamas eagerly await the children´s visit too! Our Observation Bee Hive will be "A-BUZZZZ" with activity for the children to see: this is where we explain why bees are so important for pollination. All along the tour the children will be taught educational and interesting facts about the animals, their habitats, and eating habits. A visit to the "Discovery Barn" allows the children to touch and feel feathers, various animal wools, fur and antlers, see and touch crops native to Ohio and Michigan. A hayride out to the Pumpkin Patch will allow each child to pick a pumpkin to take home with them at the end of their tour. Teachers also receive a pumpkin for their classroom! They also receive the famous Barrel Train Ride!
OPTION TWO: Recommended for 4th Grade and Older!
Animal Tour Two:
This tour begins with each student milking one of our REAL dairy cows! In addition to the milking, the students will then try their hand at butter making! They will get to sample the butter they have made on saltine crackers with honey at lunchtime, along with a glass of our apple cider! The tour includes meeting and greeting our grown up farm animals and learning about their natural habitats, and eating habits. At the Observation Bee Hive Station the students will learn about pollination, see the bees working and also get to learn how honey is extracted from honeycomb using a hand crack honey extractor. The students will press apples into cider using an 1890´s press (as in the olden days, before automated equipment). A "Producers to Consumers" session teaches about the many different ways we market our crops. They will then head back to the "Discovery Barn" to view and identify major crops of Ohio and Michigan, as well as animal items. Teachers also receive a pumpkin for their classroom! Finally, the students will each get to try to hit targets with our Corn Cannon (propelled by compressed air)!
OPTION THREE: Great for Everyone!
"A Trip to a Real Pumpkin Patch" Tour:
Did you experience our farm tour in the spring? Do you just want your students to experience fall at the Pumpkin Patch? Come to the farm this fall for the Pumpkin Patch Tour! Each class will take a Hayride out for our actual pumpkin patch where we will talk about how we grow pumpkins and why bees are necessary for them to grow. They will view Honeybees in our Observation Bee Hive. At the patch each student will pick their own pumpkin to take home with them. Teachers will each pick a classroom pumpkin! Then back at the farm, the students will go through our indoor Straw Maze! Finally, our own fresh pressed Apple Cider and donuts will be waiting for your group. Approximate tour time is 1-1.5 hours.
Lunch Area:
We have a lovely area inside the barn for lunch and snacks. It is decorated for the season. We can heat the area if the weather is chilly. The Candy and Snack Shop is open at lunch time. The items range from chips, candies, pop, water and coffee.
Restrooms:
The farm has flushable restroom and handwashing station. All of our Tour Leaders carry hand sanitizer for the students to use at each station.
Rain Days:
Rain days... do happen. If we feel the rain is too heavy for the students (and adults) to still enjoy and have an enriching learning experience, we will cancel the tour. HOWEVER, with light rain, we always leave it up to your team teachers. We DO automatically cancel if there is HEAVY RAIN and/or LIGHTNING for obvious safety reasons. If you must cancel a tour for any reason, other than weather, you MUST CALL by 9 AM the day of the tour or your school will be charged a $50.00 no show fee.
Tour Costs:
STUDENTS ARE $10.00 each per tour.
EACH TEACHER IS FREE!
ANY ADDITIONAL CHAPERONES are $10.00 each
We do take school check, cash, purchase orders (if necessary, you MUST have PO# with you on the Tour Day), and credit cards. We ask that you have ALL PAYMENTS, including additional chaperone money, ready when you arrive. This saves valuable tour time!
Tour Length:
We can complete a tour in 1-2 hours, if necessary. HOWEVER, we PREFER to schedule your tour base on the amount of time you have to give us! The average tour is 2.5-3 hours! The longer the better, we will fill the time!
WE WANT THIS TO BE A FUN, LEISURELY LEARNING EXPERIENCE!
In order to for your groups to enjoy all the activities at our farm, we ask that you be punctual on your arrival time! We are also taking reservations for spring 2023!
BOOKING DATES AN TIMES ARE FILLED ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS, SO BOOK EARLY!
Please call Melissa at: (419) 461-1298 for info to make reservations.
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WE LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING OUR FARM WITH YOU!!!
John & Melissa Bowlander
