Field Trips

Field Trip Menu of Activities

Alpaca Feeding and Fiber Exploration

SOME FUN FACTS

🦙 Alpacas have big, round eyes that make them look cute. Their eyes help them see well and watch out for danger.

🦙 People use alpaca wool to make warm and cozy sweaters, scarves, and blankets. It's a special kind of wool that keeps you warm without feeling scratchy.

🦙 Sometimes, when alpacas get mad or annoyed, they spit, just like camels do. But they usually only spit at other alpacas, not people.

ACTIVITY

Let the students feed alpacas with a small handful of grain if they are willing.

HANDS-ON

After feeding, allow students to touch and feel alpaca fiber. Pass around alpaca fiber and discuss what it feels like. 

TAKE AWAY

Build a bird nest helper. (Cost $2)

TIME ALLOTMENT 

10-15 minutes | 20-30 minutes with take away activity

Ducks and Chickens 🦆🐔

SOME FUN FACTS

🐔 Chickens love to scratch the ground with their feet to find tasty bugs and seeds. It's like they're playing in the dirt all day.

🐔 Ducks don't just quack; they have lots of different quacks and sounds to talk to each other. It's like their own special language!

ACTIVITY

Divide students up and let them explore the chicken coop and duck pond. If they find an egg they can bring it to an adult.

HANDS-ON

Hand out various feathers. Talk about why they look different, what is their purpose, how people use feathers

TIME ALLOTMENT

15 minutes

Pigs 🐖

SOME FUN FACTS

🐖 American Guinea Hogs are a special kind of pig called a "heritage breed." This means they have a long history in the United States, and people are working to keep them from disappearing.

​​🐖 American Guinea Hogs are fantastic at helping in the garden. They love to munch on weeds, grass, and even some pests like snails and slugs. Kids can learn how these hogs can be like "garden clean-up crews," making the garden healthier without using chemicals.

ACTIVITY

Observe the pigs and discuss their names and who is who. Toss peanuts/grain into the paddock and discuss how pigs root in the ground. 

HANDS-ON

Hand out clipboards and complete an observation on pig behavior. 

TIME ALLOTMENT

10-15 minutes

Pony and Donkey 🐴

SOME FUN FACTS

🐴 Suzie is a Haflinger Pony. A pony is like a shorter horse.

🐴 Donkeys are known as strong and hardworking animals. They can carry heavy loads and help with farm chores like pulling carts or plowing fields. They're like nature's trucks!

🐴 Donkeys are friendly and social animals. They love spending time with other donkeys and even make friends with other animals like horses and goats. Kids can learn about the importance of making friends and getting along with others from donkeys.

ACTIVITY

Walk through the horse wing and show the kids a halter, horse blanket, the stalls they

HANDS-ON

In the horse wing talk about the equine in the horse wing. Provide students with grooming brushes and pass them around. Discuss what each one is for.

TAKE-AWAY

Color a horseshoe for good luck (25 cents each)

TIME ALLOTMENT

10-15 minutes | 20-30 minutes with take away activity

Emu (the emu will only be available on some field trips) 🪶

SOME FUN FACTS

🪶 Emus are one of the tallest birds in the world! They can grow even taller than grown-ups. And guess what? They're super speedy runners, too. They can run as fast as a car on the road!

🪶 Emus don't sing or chirp like other birds. Instead, female emus like Dundee make drumming sounds by thumping their big bellies. It's like they have their own drum set inside!

🪶 Emu eggs are huge! They're as big as a grapefruit, and they're a cool green color.

ACTIVITY

Walk up to pasture to observe Dundee. Talk about their relation to an ostrich, identify their unique features (wings, feet)

Cows 🐄

SOME FUN FACTS

🐄 A cow poop is called a cow pie.

🐄 Cows are gentle creatures, and are known for their calm and gentle nature. They are usually very friendly, and can even become quite attached to their human caregivers.

🐄 Cows have best friends. Just like humans, cows form close bonds with other cows. 

ACTIVITY

Feed a piece of bread to a cow.

HANDS-ON

Talk about how much hay a cow eats in a day. Have bales of hay for students to lift and guess how heavy it is. Use the seesaw to see how many bales of hay heavy one student is.

TAKE AWAY

Everyone gets a poop sticker (1 cent)

TIME ALLOTMENT

15-20 minutes

Hair Sheep and Wool Sheep 🐑

SOME FUN FACTS

🐑 People use Romney wool to make warm and cozy sweaters and blankets.

🐑 All sheep are like nature's lawnmowers. They love to eat grass and plants, which helps keep the fields tidy. Plus, it's good for the soil too! They're like the helpers of the environment.

🐑 Katahdin sheep have a special superpower—they don't need to be sheared like other sheep! Their wool naturally sheds on its own, which means they stay cool in the summer, and don't need haircuts.

🐑 These sheep are named after a beautiful mountain called Mount Katahdin in Maine. These sheep are known for being strong and tough, just like the mountain.

ACTIVITY

Can you see the sheep? Who do you see? Talk about the difference between hair sheep (Katahdin) and wool sheep (Romney). Why are sheep shy?

HANDS-ON

Allow children to take a piece of wool. Discuss lanolin. Lanolin is like a special lotion that sheep have in their wool. It's made by the sheep's skin to keep their wool soft and waterproof. Just like we use lotion to keep our skin nice, lanolin helps sheep's wool stay cozy and comfy. When we use wool from sheep to make warm clothes like sweaters or blankets, we sometimes keep the lanolin in because it makes the wool extra soft and fluffy!

TAKE AWAY

A baggie of wool (Cost: .16 cents)

TIME ALLOTMENT

15 minutes

Bugs & Lifecycles 🐞

SOME FUN FACTS

🐞 Butterflies have a special way of tasting their food - they taste with their feet! They have taste sensors on their feet, so when they land on a flower, they can tell if it's yummy or not by standing on it. Imagine if you could taste your food just by touching it with your toes!

🐞 Fireflies glow to find love. Fireflies use their blinking lights to communicate with each other. Each species has its own special pattern of flashes to find a mate. It's like they're sending secret love messages in the dark.

🐞 Crickets are thermometers. Crickets chirp faster when it's warm, and slower when it's cold. You can count the number of chirps in 15 seconds, add 40, and that's roughly the temperature in Fahrenheit. It's like having tiny cricket weather reporters in your backyard!

ACTIVITY

At the picnic tables, talk about helpful bugs. Show 4 helpful bugs that live in our backyard, and briefly explain the name of each and why they’re helpful.

HANDS ON

Take a nature hike and do an egg carton scavenger hunt. Talk about if you see a bug to observe it, but don’t harm it. We need to let them do their job.

TAKE AWAY

Egg carton with scavenger hunt items. (Egg cartons .50 cents)

TIME ALLOTMENT

10 minutes | 20 minutes with take-away activity

Forest 🌲

SOME FUN FACTS

🌲 New Hampshire is famous for its maple trees, and they are the ones that give us delicious maple syrup. Every spring, people tap the trees to collect the sap, which is then boiled down into syrup.

🌲 Many trees in New Hampshire, like pine trees, keep their green leaves (needles) all year long. They are called evergreen trees, and they provide cozy homes for animals during cold winters.

🌲 Oak trees produce acorns, which are like little treasures for animals. Squirrels love to collect and store them to eat later.

🌲 The White Birch Tree in New Hampshire has a special paper-like bark. Long ago, people used this bark to write on, just like paper. It's like having nature's notebook!

ACTIVITY

As you walk around the farm with the children, identify plants and trees you see.