We take great joy in having school groups here, to learn about apples and pumpkins in the fall, and are so excited to invite you to visit us this spring as we learn about the beginning of the life cycle!
Bookings can be made starting May 3rd, 2022!
Providing educational moments, as well as some fun on the farm in the fall, is what fieldtrips at the Applebarn are all about. With the advent of covid, we have had to modify our tours in several ways in order to allow less interaction between our customers and your students. We have created a new area called Farmville that is a totally outdoor venue where groups of people can visit the animals, go on the jumping pillow and pedal karts. This area also has a small playground. In addition, there is a mini corn maze and goat petting area for the children to enjoy. There is only one tour area and it is suitable for children ages 3-10 ideally. We do not have a separate tour area for pre-school groups.
The tour will have five distinct stations in which students will interact with their own classmates. The rotation of the stations is such that students will go in one direction and not collide or come close to students from other classes or schools. We have several handwash stations as well as sanitization pumps available throughout the whole area. Currently, masks are optional in outdoor areas and only mandatory when you are inside. Tour guides will wear masks where social distancing is not possible. While the Farmville area is open to the public, it is almost an acre in size so there is lots of room to spread out. The hay ride, corn maze, petting area and teaching areas will be used exclusively for our tour groups so that only the schools here on tours will be in this area.
On the field trips students will do the following:
Go on a hay ride and learn about the seasons of our crops
(two classes one on each wagon)
Learn about the life cycle of apples, what plants require to grow
Visit our observation bee hive and learn about bees and pollination
Visit all the animals in Farmville including our goats, pig, alpaca, chickens, geese, bunnies, and more.
In teams, they will complete an animal scavenger hunt.
Spend time playing on the jumping pillow, playground and pedal karts
Visit our petting barn to get up close and personal with our goats, bunnies & birds
Be given a honey stick to take back to school
BONUS! eachers will be given a blossom craft and parts of a flower worksheet to work on during class time.
There will be a total of 6 classes here on the farm at one time doing tours. As mentioned above, the classes will be in their own separate areas. The tour will be approximately 1 hour and ½ in length. Students will all go home with a pumpkin as well as an apple (bag given to the teacher). If your class would like to stay longer on the farm, you are welcome to use our covered picnic area to eat your lunch. You may also visit the upper petting barn and store, but you will be responsible for supervising your students. If you wish to stay after the tour, please indicate this in an email so we can take note.
Times
Tours will be available Thursday & Friday between May 19th & June 17th, with two time slots for you to choose from:
9:30 am – 11:00 am
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Our Spring School Tour takes about 1.25 hours. Spaces are limited to four groups per time slot.
*Note: If your group is late, you will need to miss part of the tour. We do our best to be flexible and fit in all parts of the tour, however we are on a tight schedule and there will most likely be groups before and/or after your tour. In addition, if your group is early, they will not be able to enter our tour areas until the appropriate time. Please do your best to come no more than 10 minutes early for your scheduled time.
Prices & Group sizes:
Children/tour guests ages 3 and up:
$11.95 per student/sibling (plus GST = $12.55)
Adult supervisors (not EAs or Teachers):
$8.95 per parent supervisor (plus GST = $9.40)
*Teachers & Educational Assistants are FREE.
Cost only applies to each student, additional sibling, or parent supervisor.
Groups should be a minimum of 20 paying people from the same school (students, supervising parents, and extra siblings all combined) and a maximum of 30 people, including teachers & EAs.
A minimum charge will be applied for groups of less than 20 paying people. Please ensure you book enough groups to accommodate everyone who will be coming with you.
Book your school tour!
Please note:
*We require a minimum number of 20 full price paid persons in each group with the maximum number of people in each group being 30. If you have less than 20 people, you will still need to pay for 20 people or a tour will not be possible. If you book a tour and then show up with less than 20 students/paid tour members you will still need to pay this minimum amount.
· If you have more than 30 people (including all adults/teachers or siblings) we will need to register you for a second group of 20 people.
· All teachers and EA’s are FREE, but they do not count as part of your 20 person minimum number of tour guests
· We suggest you bring no more than 1 adult for every four children as all supervisors will be taken into account when calculating the total number of guests in your group.
· Please ask parents to find other arrangements for all siblings as we have limited space on the farm and all bodies (including infants) will be counted. All siblings ages 3 and up will be charged the full tour price. If parents must bring siblings along, you will need to let us know so we have an accurate group count.
· Please ask parents and other adults NOT registered as part of your tour group to stay home. We do not have room for extra guests on the farm who are not registered as part of your group in our tour area. (All extra adults such as uncles, aunts, grandparents etc. are not allowed in the tour area unless they are pre registered and paid for ahead of time)
· If additional people arrive with your group that are not accounted for in your submitted numbers, we cannot guarantee that they will be able to participate in the tour. If, at any time, you are aware of a change in your numbers, please contact us immediately so we may do our best to accommodate you.