Draft Animals, Free Admission for Mothers, Beekeeping and More in May at Billings Farm & Museum
Draft Animals, Free Admission for Mothers, Beekeeping and More in May
at Billings Farm & Museum
WOODSTOCK, VERMONT . . . It’s all about bees, draft animals, and gardening at Billings Farm in May!
Draft Animal Day, Sunday, May 9, from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., features local teamsters with their draft horses, working steers, and oxen.
- Learn all about these powerful animals and the work they do on the farm through plowing and demonstrations and exhibits.
- Visitors are invited to try their hand at plowing with a team of draft horses.
- Sample Shoofly Pie and Switchel in the Learning Kitchen and take home the recipes.
- Kids can race a hobby horse around our lawn and win a ribbon!
- Families activities and crafts include making a clothespin horse and the reading of Huck’s Way Home, the story of Billings Farm’s runaway steer!
In celebration of Mother’s Day, mothers receive free admission!
Billings Backyard returns on Saturday, May 15th, with a live Zoom workshop on Backyard Beekeeping from 10:00-11:30 am. Curious about keeping bees? Passionate about pollinators? Join beekeeper Troy Hall, of Hall Apiaries in Plainfield, NH, for an exploration of all things bees. $15/person; $10/member. Register at billingsfarm.org/.
Billings Farm & Museum will offer a number of virtual education programs for schools and homeschool students in May:
Homeschool Days: Planting & Gardening Join us for a springtime exploration of planting and gardening. Students will examine the questions what does a seed need in order to grow? What stages does it go through to become a plant? We’ll look at different types of seeds to learn how they spread and germinate and discuss how gardening was different long ago. Families choose one 45-minute live Zoom session scheduled for May 25th and May 27th from 10:00-10:45am. Visit https://billingsfarm.org/homeschool-programs/ to register.
Virtual Mini-Units for Schools: Billings Farm & Museum interpreters join school classes with live virtual programs on topics including Draft Animals, Tools of the Trade and A Place in the Land. Offered for grades K-6, virtual mini-units include supplemental materials and videos as well as a live 30-minute session. Learn more at https://billingsfarm.org/education/
Visiting safely Billings Farm & Museum enforces safety standards in compliance with Vermont State guidelines. We take the safety of our staff, animals, and our guests seriously. Each person must answer health screening questions including if they have quarantined according to Vermont guidelines. Contact tracing information and temperatures are taken for each visitor. Face coverings must be worn by all guests over the age of 2 everywhere on the site, including the outdoors. For more about visiting Billings Farm safely, updates on our site capacity, and to learn which spaces are open, visit billingsfarm.org/safety.
Billings Farm & Museum, now in its 39th season, is pleased to provide classroom space for the Woodstock Elementary School sixth grade this spring, to allow of in-person learning. The Spring Hours of Operation are 10AM-5PM: April 9-18, daily, and April 19-May 30: Wednesday-Sundays, 10AM-5PM. Open 7 days a week May 31-Oct. 31. Celebrate Billings Farm’s 150th Anniversary with a visit this season and support its education mission at billingsfarm.org/donate.
The Billings Farm & Museum is owned and operated by The Woodstock Foundation Inc., a charitable non-profit institution. Billings Farm & Museum is committed to providing educational opportunities and experiences to our visitors, whether here in Woodstock, Vermont or at home wherever you are through our online resources at Billings Farm at Home. Visit us on billingsfarm.org, and find us on Facebook at facebook.com/BillingsFarmMuseum/ and Instagram at instagram.com/billingsfarm/.
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BFM PHOTO: David Heisler, Dunbarton, NH -sulky plow demonstration at the 2019 Draft Animal Day
