Educational Farm Group Tours - MARCH-OCTOBER
April 9- October 25, 2024
Pre-arranged, Farm Educator Guided
For groups of 15 or more
Reservations required - please call (248) 374-0200 press 2
DETAILS:
Farm Tours at Maybury Farm are an opportunity for children and families to engage in hands-on experiences that connect them to the animals and agriculture that are such an important part of our world. Whether it's learning how sap becomes syrup, how sheep produce wool for our fiber, holding a baby goat, seeing working honey bees up close, exploring native Michigan trees and wildlife while hiking our trails or taking a wagon ride out to the corn maze, our Farm Tours are designed to cultivate joy and wonder in every child! We integrate experiential learning activities that engage kids in observation, inquiry, and experimentation - but it's so fun they don't even realize they're getting a science lesson!
Descriptions of our 2024 Farm Tours, including available dates, pricing, and tour lengths, are listed below. A printable description of our preschool and elementary educational tours is also available. All tours include a dedicated Farm Educator. Visiting the barn and farm animals, and use of the playground and picnic area is also included with all tours, but please note those spaces are shared with the general public visiting the farm. To fully enjoy your guided tour of the farm and use of the playground and picnic area, we suggest a 2-hour time frame.
Please call (248) 374-0200 press 2 for more details, and to make a reservation. We look forward to having your group grow with us this season!
PLEASE NOTE: the minimum number of participants for any tour at the farm is 15. Please see list below for maximum number of participants.
On the Farm
This engaging tour is specially designed for our younger visitors. During the walking tour, our guests will learn about some of our farm animals by doing a picture scavenger hunt. They will also get a chance to participate in the “farm Olympics” to work on their motor skills as they do farm related activities. If desired, an educator led wagon ride may be added on for an extra cost (see below). This tour includes the use of the playground and outdoor picnic tables.
COST: $10 or $13 with optional wagon ride (tour can accommodate from 15-125 participants; NOTE: groups of 75 or more must include a wagon ride to allow for proper group rotation)
GRADES: Preschool (ages 3-5), kindergarten, 1st grade
AVAILABLE DATES: mid-April-October
TOUR LENGTH: 60 - 100 minutes* (dependent on the group size)
Farm Animals & Us
This is our most popular tour. During this walking tour, our guests will be introduced to the working animals of Maybury Farm including horses, donkeys, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, cows, alpacas and more! They will learn about each animal, including breeds and names, and the roles the different animals play on a working farm. Students will develop an understanding of our connection to the animals that provide our food and clothing resources. At the end of the tour, students will become honorary Maybury Farmers and rotate through hands-on STEM activities replicating many chores that our farmers do throughout the year (milking pretend goats, measuring out food, etc.). An educator led wagon ride may be added on for an extra cost (see below). This tour includes use of the playground and outdoor picnic tables.
COST: $10 or $13 with optional wagon ride (tour can accommodate from 15-125 participants; NOTE: groups of 75 or more must include a wagon ride to allow for proper group rotation)
GRADES: 1st - 5th grades
AVAILABLE DATES: mid April-October
TOUR LENGTH: 60 - 100 minutes* (dependent on the group size)
Farm Survival
This tour is set up for our older student visitors. Students will take a walking tour of the farm to learn about the farm animals, their food and pasture needs, special rescue stories, and the role each plays on a working farm. They will participate in various farm activities (water testing, reading ear tags, etc.), and will ultimately enter a design challenge to help solve a real life Maybury Farm animal issue.
COST: $10 or $13 with optional wagon ride (tour can accommodate from 15-75 participants)
GRADES: 6th - 12th grades
AVAILABLE DATES: mid-April-October
TOUR LENGTH: 60 minutes* (plus additional 20 minutes if adding optional wagon ride)
Spotlight on Maybury Farm
This educational tour is specifically designed for our active senior visitors who are interested in learning about our animals, and about how we run Maybury Farm. We start with a slow walking tour of many of the animals. We will discuss each animal, their background stories, and how they are useful on a farm. Interesting trivia and fun facts will be shared. Lastly, we meet up with our barn manager and learn how the animals are fed and taken care of medically. By the end of the tour, senior visitors will gain a better understanding of most aspects of Maybury Farm.
COST: $10 or $13 with optional wagon ride (tour can accommodate from 15-75 participants)
GRADES: Seniors ages 55 and up
AVAILABLE DATES: mid-April-October
TOUR LENGTH: 60 minutes* (plus additional 20 minutes if adding optional wagon ride)
NEW!
A Season to Bee
Honeybees may be small but they are mighty – mighty important to our food system! This tour starts with a wagon ride out to the Maybury Farm working hives. At the hives, we will learn about the various jobs of the bees in the hive, the importance of pollination to our food system, the threats that our honeybee populations face and what you can do to help! Back at the farm’s garden, you'll get to see bees pollinating the food we eat, see inside a real beehive, and help create our pollinator hotel. The final portion of the tour is the Honeybee Relay, where the group will put all the knowledge they gathered to work and compete in a friendly relay where they become the honeybee! This tour includes a self-guided tour of the farm, and use of the playground and outdoor picnic tables.
COST: $13 - includes wagon ride (tour can accommodate from 15-75 participants)
GRADES: 6th - 12th grades
AVAILABLE DATES: June-September
TOUR LENGTH: 60 minutes*
Fall on the Farm
As the seasons change, so does life on the farm. Crops are harvested in our garden, the corn is transformed into a corn maze, and the farmers begin to prepare for winter. This farm tour includes a wagon ride out to our corn maze, walking the one acre mini maze, an educator led corn game where students learn about the importance of corn, and finally an educator led tour of the farm animals. At the end of the tour, students will become honorary Maybury Farmers and rotate through hands-on, age appropriate STEM activities replicating many chores that our farmers do throughout the year. This tour includes the use of the playground and outdoor picnic tables.
COST: $13 - includes wagon ride & mini corn maze (tour can accommodate from 15-125 participants)
GRADES: PreK - 5th grades
AVAILABLE DATES: October
TOUR LENGTH: 60 - 100 minutes* (dependent on the group size)
Presenting Maybury Farm
This tour is set up for adults visiting the farm who would like to learn more about our animals. We will do a walking tour of the farm to learn more in-depth information about the animals. Guests will learn about the animal’s breeds, their pasture and food needs, and their roles on a working farm. Fun facts and trivia information will be provided about the different animals, and guests will walk away feeling like they understand how our farm works.
COST: $10 or $13 with optional wagon ride (tour can accommodate from 15-125 participants)
GRADES: Ages 18 and up
AVAILABLE DATES: mid-April-October
TOUR LENGTH: 60 minutes* (plus additional 20 minutes if adding optional wagon ride)
From Sap to Syrup (now closed for the 2024 season)
You must dress for cold weather for this one! This engaging tour begins with a wagon ride out to the Sugar Bush where you will walk into the woods and learn about the amazing way sugar maple trees produce sap, how to tap a tree, why sap flows, and how to collect it. The wagon will then take your group to the Sugar Shack where you will see how sap becomes delicious maple syrup, watching the process, in action, in our evaporator. You will also get to try a sample of the finished product! The tour ends with students rotating through STEM maple syrup related activities. This tour includes a self-guided tour of the farm and the animals.
COST: $13 - includes wagon ride and activities (tour can accommodate from 15-100 participants)
GRADES: K-12 and adults (also makes a great corporate outing!)
AVAILABLE DATES: Weekdays in March. Watch for details. (availability subject to change based on weather)
TOUR LENGTH: 60 minutes*
*Tour length indicated is for the educational portion of the tour and does not include additional time for self-guided tours of the farm or use of playground and picnic areas.
Animal Engagement - JUNE-SEPTEMBER
Daily
Get a hands on experience with our farm animals with the help of one of our educators and farmhands who will provide a safe, informative, and fun experience! Engagement opportunities could range from holding a chicken to watching a farmhand milk a goat.
Engagement will take place throughout the day, around the farm and not in the pasture or pens in the barn.
COST: Free - included with your $7 admission fee to the farm (children under 2 are FREE)
AGE: All ages welcome!
StoryTime - JUNE-MAY
Wednesdays & Thursdays, May 29 - Sept. 19 (StoryTime will not take place7/3, 7/24 & 25)
Starts at 11am
Children will have fun while learning about a unique farm topic each week through stories, songs, and sensory play. Special animal guests may also visit us at the end of StoryTime. Maybury Farm develops our story times based on the Every Child Ready to Read program which is a research-based early literacy program, from the American Library Association. The Every Child Ready to Read program encourages parents to interact with their children using the five practices of early literacy: singing, talking, reading, writing, and playing. These five practices develop the components of early literacy, including phonological awareness, vocabulary, print awareness, letter knowledge, and background knowledge, which prepare children to learn to read and write in school.
COST: Free - included with your $7 admission fee to the farm (children under 2 are FREE)
AGE: All ages welcome!
DATES: Weekly from June - September at 11am
LENGTH: 30 minutes
StoryTime takes place outdoors and is weather dependent - please check for updates on Facebook in case of cancellation.
Farm Camp - JUNE-AUGUST
They'll also play team-building games, make enrichment toys for the animals, make crafts and much more!
Farm Camp is designed to include a variety of fun activities that will connect campers to the animals and agriculture that provide so much of our food and fiber. Farm Camp cultivates awareness and appreciation for the role of farmers, land, and animals in the world around us and how they contribute to our daily lives!
Registration is required. Weekly camps are limited to 24 campers per session. Campers may sign-up for an unlimited number of sessions. Please be aware that Farm Camp enrollment fills up quickly so please register as early as possible.
Tuesdays - Fridays, June 18 - August 16
9am-4pm - FARM CAMP IS SOLD OUT FOR 2024!
Farm Camp is a four-day camp (Tues-Fri) filled with exciting experiences designed to engage and educate campers on all things farming! Held entirely outdoors, campers will not only totally unplug, but will get their hands dirty. They will enjoy learning about the care and function of animals while helping in the barn, and will learn about the cycle of planting, growing and harvesting while helping out in the Farm Garden.
COST: FULL 4 DAY SESSIONS: Early registration - $300 - payment in full along with registration form; after 4/1/24 - $350 - payment in full along with registration form; 3 DAY SESSIONS*: Early registration - $225 - payment in full along with registration form; after 4/1/24 - $275 - payment in full along with registration form. PLEASE NOTE: early registration starts January 15! PAYMENT IS DUE IN FULL AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION.
AGE: Children ages 6-12. Children must be age 6 by the week they are scheduled for camp. Children under the age of 6 will not be permitted at camp.
SESSIONS: 9 weekly sessions
SESSION TOPICS:
Week 1 - June 18-21: sheep, bunnies, predator/prey, donkeys (sold out!)
Week 2 - June 25-28: goats, chickens, mammals, horses (sold out!)
Week 3* - July 1-3: alpacas, peacocks, cows (sold out!)
Week 4 - July 9-12: sheep, horses, turkeys, cows (sold out!)
Week 5 - July 16-19: ponies, pigs, habitats, bees/butterflies (sold out!)
Week 6* - July 22-24: cows, goats, bunnies (sold out!)
Week 7 - July 30-August 2: bunnies, horses, mammals, alpacas (sold out!)
Week 8 - August 6-9: donkeys, pigs, turkeys, peacocks (sold out!)
Week 9 - August 13-16: chicken, sheep, tractors, ponies (sold out!)
*3 day sessions at reduced cost
Please download and read the Farm Camp Letter to Parents for more detailed information. You can preview the registration form prior to online registration.
Online registration is now closed. Call 248-374-0200/press 2 for questions regarding registration.
The required State of Michigan Camper Medical History form (including immunization records) MUST be mailed to: Maybury Farm-Farm Camp, c/o Northville Community Foundation, PO Box 560, Northville, MI 48167 by MAY 1. Please ensure all vaccination information is current.
Maybury Farm Camp is licensed by the State of Michigan - camp license #P803690; camp site license #P803875.
Refunds are not available for program registration. Thank you!
Watch-Me-Grow - MAY - AUGUST
Tuesdays, May 28 - August 20
10:30 am (class begins promptly - please arrive early)
Online registration required - starts 3-1-24! 25 children/reservations maximum per session
Watch-Me-Grow preschool programs are for children ages 3-5. Each science-based program is filled with numerous hands-on activities, crafts, games, and animal visits. This creates an engaging time of fun and learning in the gorgeous green space of the farm!
COST: $20 per session (includes 1 child and 1 adult)
AGE: 3-5 years
LENGTH: 45 minutes
SESSION SCHEDULE:
May 28 - Purely Pigs
June 4 - Strong Sheep
June 11 - Glorious Goats
June 18 - Crazy Chickens
June 25 - Happy Horses
July 2 - No Session Available
July 9 - Terrific Tractors
July 16 - Beautiful Bunnies
Online registration begins March 1, 2024.
Registration for Watch-Me-Grow is online only - Register for Watch-Me-Grow. Please email completed Watch-Me-Grow registration form within 24 hours after online registration to hold your spot. EMAIL: farmteam@mayburyfarm.org
When sending your registration form in by email, please scan and send. DO NOT TAKE A PICTURE OF THE REGISTRATION FORM to send via email!
Non-refundable - sessions take place rain or shine. In the case of severe thunderstorms, you will be contacted if your session is rescheduled.
Please arrive to check-in at least 10 minutes prior - program starts promptly at 10:30am.
July 23 - Colorful Cows
July 30 - Delightful Donkeys
August 6 - Tremendous Turkeys
August 13 - Pretty Peacocks
August 20 - Growing Gardens
CANCELLATION/REFUND POLICY: All purchases including tours, parties, camp, online farm market, reservation tickets and general admission are NON-REFUNDABLE and NON-TRANSFERABLE. Ticket(s) are valid only on the selected date.