Ag Hall of Fame

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2015-09-09 12.43.28

On the 9th we traveled to the Ag Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs to learn about the history of farming, farm equipment and to explore turn of the last century farm life.

A tour at Ag Hall of Fame has so many great activities – a walk through the farmhouse and a talk about daily life on the farm; time for the kids to try their hand at farm chores like grinding corn and feeding the ground corn to the chickens, gathering eggs, washing clothes on a washboard and hanging them to dry on a clothesline, and beating rugs; a talk about bees plus an indoor exhibit about bees (including dressing up in a beekeeper’s suit!); a tour of the vegetable garden and the flower garden; a tour through the tractor and farm equipment museum, plus learning about dairy equipment. There is even a miniature train ride around the grounds and pond, plus a hayride too!

We booked a morning, took picnic lunches, and enjoyed our hayride after lunch, but we could have easily made a full day at the Ag Hall of Fame. The kids had such a fun time trying out chores, plus they enjoyed the indoor play area in the museum itself. While you are at the museum, take a step out front to view the National Farmers Memorial.

The Ag Hall of Fame is a hidden gem in Bonner Springs, and we encourage families, other homeschool groups or school groups to take advantage of this venue. The staff were knowledgeable about and excited about farming, and they did a nice job of interacting with the kids. If you are looking to explore the Ag Hall of Fame on your own, or to visit their upcoming events, check out the following links:

Ag Hall of Fame

Ag Hall of Fame Events

Balloon Fest at Ag Hall of Fame

Some pictures of our day at Ag Hall of Fame:

2015-09-09 10.08.25A barn made out of recycled materials

2015-09-09 10.09.24Examples of windmills

2015-09-09 10.39.51Examples of various water pumps, plus the opposite side of the recycled materials barn

2015-09-09 10.13.11A covered wagon

2015-09-09 10.20.05Examples of farm tools

2015-09-09 10.20.01More tools

2015-09-09 10.19.50And even more tools! Farming by hand involved all different kinds of tools and implements

2015-09-09 10.24.49

2015-09-09 10.27.27

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2015-09-09 10.27.51

2015-09-09 10.30.18A cotton baler

2015-09-09 10.29.56Hands on with raw cotton

2015-09-09 10.31.21Various examples of tractors

2015-09-09 10.38.18Notice the “dog bone” pattern on the tractor tire

2015-09-09 10.35.03A one-horse open sleigh!

2015-09-09 10.44.34A variety of separators used to separate the milk from the cream for small dairy operations

2015-09-09 11.01.19Farm chores – grinding corn

2015-09-09 11.02.53Washing clothes on a washboard

2015-09-09 11.19.11Some of the larger farm equipment

2015-09-09 11.24.53A video from the bee talk

2015-09-09 11.44.28And the indoor bee exhibit

2015-09-09 13.24.18A local bee

2015-09-09 13.33.24Some of the flower garden that attracts the bees

2015-09-09 13.33.29And more of the flower garden

2015-09-09 12.00.09Vegetable garden

2015-09-09 11.59.59And more of the vegetables

2015-09-09 13.26.07A caterpillar enjoying the milkweed in the front flower garden

2015-09-09 12.47.01A view from our train ride around the pond

2015-09-09 12.47.55And a view of Farmtown

2015-09-09 12.48.04The miniature train goes over a small bridge

2015-09-09 12.48.09And under a larger bridge

2015-09-09 12.48.23And through a tunnel too!

2015-09-09 12.48.38Then back to the train depot

2015-09-09 13.12.27Hayride

Thanks so much to the staff and volunteers who made our visit so enjoyable, and were so willing to share their knowledge and enthusiasm with our group!

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