Join us on the Farm!
At Billings Farm & Museum, we believe learning is most meaningful when students can engage all their senses—seeing, touching, listening, and doing. When children actively participate, lessons move beyond the page and become experiences they remember long after their school days.
On a field trip, students meet animals, think critically about historical artifacts, and try traditional skills. These experiences build curiosity, confidence, and connection—to each other, to the land, and to the stories of farming in our region.
How do I book a field trip at Billings Farm & Museum?
Please complete our online Field Trip Request Form. A complete request form is required to finalize booking. Once we receive your request, a member of the education team will contact you to learn more and finalize your visit. The earliest we can host you on site is two weeks after receiving your request form. Please call Mollie Surprenant, School & Youth Programs Manager, at 802-457-5330 with any questions.
Billings Farm & Museum Scholarship Fund
We are very pleased to be able to offer financial assistance to schools through our Billings Farm & Museum Scholarship Fund. This fund is supported by generous gifts from individuals and foundations, along with contributions through our Round Up Program.
What does a field trip at Billings Farm & Museum look like?
Each Guided Field Trip Includes:
- A guided program with a farm educator
- A designated classroom and lunch area
Pricing: $9.00/student. Employees of your school or organization receive complimentary admission. Caregiver chaperones are $14 each (8 caregiver chaperones maximum per visit).
Payment: Groups can choose to be invoiced or pay upon arrival. Invoices will go out to your organization after your scheduled visit. Groups that choose to pay upon arrival will do so at the admissions desk when they arrive (cash, check, or credit card are accepted). Checks should be made out to Billings Farm & Museum.
Program Offerings Overview
We have 3 different program offerings:
- Guided Field Trips: On-site programs by our experienced educators
- Classroom & Outreach Visits: Educators bring hands-on learning directly to your school, camp, event, or organization
- Self-Guided Visits: Groups explore the farm at their own pace
Like nature itself, the programs offered at the farm are shaped by the natural world. As the seasons change and the farm evolves throughout the year, so do our programs, offering learners new opportunities to explore, discover, and connect with the rhythms of farm life.
We welcome visits from Pre-K to 12th grade learners, and adjust the program according to developmental and curricular needs.
Guided Field Trips
[NOTE: Guided Field Trips are not available during the month of March]
History Detectives
Grades 4-8 (September-June): Become a history detective by examining photographs, letters, artifacts, and other primary sources from Billings Farm & Museum’s collections. Students investigate clues from the past, learn how historians interpret evidence, and share their discoveries with the group.
Children on Hill Farms
Grades K-3 (September-November, May-June): Step into the lives of children growing up on a 19th-century Vermont hill farm. Through historic artifacts, stories, and hands-on activities, students compare daily life in the past and present while exploring chores, school, work, and play.
Jersey Cow Journey
All Ages (Year-round): Experience the daily rhythms of caring for a working dairy herd. Meet our Jersey cows, calves, and heifers while exploring a cow’s lifecycle, what they eat, where they live, and how our farm team cares for them each day. Learners will discover how milk becomes dairy products and have the opportunity to groom a cow while gaining a deeper appreciation for life on a working farm.
From Sheep to Wool
All Ages (Year-round): Meet our Southdown sheep and discover the remarkable journey from fleece to fiber. Learners will feel raw wool, explore Vermont’s rich history of sheep farming, learn how sheep shaped our landscape and economy, and create a wool-based craft to take home. This hands-on experience connects agriculture, history, and traditional fiber arts.
Butter Makers
All Ages (Year-round): How is butter made? Discover the science and history behind one of the farm’s most important products. Learners will make butter through the traditional churning process, explore how cream transforms into butter, design their own butter stamps, and enjoy tasting the butter they made together.
From Orchard to Table
All Ages (November-February): From orchard to table, experience the tradition of making homemade applesauce in the historic Farm Manager’s House. Learners will peel, core, cook, and mash apples on a historic wood-burning cookstove before tasting their finished applesauce. Seasonal offerings may also include a walk through our heirloom apple orchard to learn about the many varieties of apples grown in Vermont.
Cocoa on the Cookstove
All Ages (November-February): Warm up with a cup of history! Discover the story of hot chocolate and the role it played in Victorian life. Adapted to meet the developmental needs of each age group, learners will chop, stir, and prepare hot chocolate on a historic cookstove before enjoying a warm cup during Vermont’s coldest months.
The Story of a Scoop
All Ages (July-August): Nothing says summer on the farm like homemade ice cream. Using cream, ice, salt, and plenty of teamwork, learners will discover the science behind freezing ice cream as they churn it by hand. After all their hard work, they’ll enjoy a scoop of old-fashioned homemade ice cream.
Custom Program
All Ages (November-February): Work with our educators to design a program that supports your classroom learning goals. Whether your learners thrive through sensory play, historical inquiry, agricultural science, or place-based exploration, we will create an engaging experience tailored to your group. From our youngest learners discovering the farm through play to high school students examining topics like the impact of the railroad on Vermont agriculture, Billings Farm & Museum offers meaningful learning experiences for every age.
Classroom & Outreach Visits
Farm Friends Storytime
Preschool-Grade 1 (Year-round): Billings Farm & Museum educators can visit your classroom to lead an engaging, sensory-rich, movement-filled farm-themed story time. Designed for our youngest learners, this interactive program encourages active participation while fostering early literacy skills through stories, songs, movement, and playful exploration. Children will build vocabulary, strengthen listening and comprehension skills, and develop a love of reading while connecting with life on the farm.
Vermont’s Sheep Boom
Grades 3-6 (September-April): Discover how Vermont’s sheep boom shaped the state’s landscape, economy, and communities. Through hands-on activities, interactive challenges, and collaborative building experiences, students explore this fascinating period of Vermont history in ways that make learning engaging, accessible, and fun.
School Group Policies
- We can accommodate groups of 10-50 students. If your group is larger than 50, please reach out to discuss how we may accommodate your visit.
- Membership and library passes do not apply to field trips
Contact: schoolgroups@billingsfarm.org or call 802-457-5330