Spring Programs

Program Descriptions

Animal Adventures

(Elementary School students): What types of animals live at Queens County Farm Museum? Students will learn about the livestock we raise and how each animal benefits the farm. Hands-on activities include butter churning, which helps connect students to the value-added products we enjoy from farm animals. This program includes a tour of our working farm including visits to some of our farm animals. $12 per student and parent chaperone. This is a fully outdoor program.

Bee Savvy

(Pre-K through 5th Grade): Through an indoor presentation, students will be introduced to the life and behavior of honeybees and learn how bees pollinate many of the crops we eat every day.

(6th through 12th Grade): Students observe the essential role of honeybees as pollinators, the hierarchy of the honeybee family, and the important roles they play in their hive and within our environment.

(All Age Groups): Students will make beeswax candles and take home a honey stick. This program includes a tour of our working farm with a focus on our apiary. $12 per student and parent chaperone, this program includes a tour of our working farm.

Plants and Ecology

(Pre-K through 2nd Grade): Students will learn about the parts of a flower, what plants and flowers need to grow, chlorophyll, and photosynthesis.

(3rd through 5th Grade): Students will learn what a greenhouse is for, seed dispersal and parts of a seed, seasons and season extensions, urban gardening, perennials versus annuals, and the plant growth cycle.

(6th through 8th Grade): Students will learn about colonial crops, herbs, spices, and medicinal herbs, nutrient management, Native American practices, hydroponics, and soil health.

(9th and 10th Grade): Students will learn how our food system contributes to the climate crisis, about agroforestry and animal integration, biodiversity, native and invasive species.

(11th and 12th Grade): Students will learn about pest management, plant and animal interactions, organic versus naturally grown, difference in crop farming across different biomes, and deforestation.

Younger students will focus on how plants grow; older students will observe regenerative farming practices. All students will transplant a seedling to bring home, and will tour the farm visiting our crop areas and teaching gardens. $12 per student and parent chaperone.

Rainforest Terrariums

(All Grade Levels): Students will learn about the different layers within a rainforest and which plants and animals can be found in each layer, how a self-sustaining ecosystem works, how to care for tillandsia (air plants), and will make their own terrariums to take home. Students will also tour the farm visiting our crop areas, teaching gardens, and animal paddocks. $15 per student and parent chaperone.

Compost Explorers

(K-2nd Grade): Students learn the basic science of compost, from the microbial food web living in our windrows to the nutrient balance needed to feed our crops. Students will learn the difference between organic and inorganic materials.

(3rd through 5th Grade): Students will learn how we harness natural processes to divert food waste from landfills, reduce pollution, and restore soil health.

(6th through 8th Grade): Students actively explore our compost site as an outdoor laboratory, examining the critters that live within and assist in the biodegradation necessary to turn food waste and other materials into a valuable fertilizer.

(9th through 12th Grade): Students learn about the technical process of composting via hands-on activities and experimentation – diverting waste from landfills and helping to mitigate the climate crisis.

All students will aerate our compost, learn about vermicomposting, and work on an activity to take home. This program is fully outdoors and includes a tour of our working farm.

18th Century Farmhouse History

Note: Our historic farmhouse can only accommodate one class per day (35 people maximum). Please note this program is not wheelchair accessible.

(3rd through 12th Grade): What was life like in Queens in 1772? Through the story of the 3rd generation Adriance family, students learn about NYC’s agricultural past and food preparation and preservation in our 18th century kitchen. Students assist in preparing pickled cucumbers and freshly churned butter. An outdoor tour is included. $12 per student and parent chaperone.

Seasonal Farm Tour

(Pre-K through 12th Grade): This is a fully outdoor tour of our working farm. Students will visit our animal paddocks, crop areas, historic buildings, and teaching gardens. $9 per student and parent chaperone.

All Spring field trips include a hayride; Animal Adventures and Seasonal Farm Tours include feeding one of the animals a little snack.

Spring programs take place 3/31/2025 through 6/20/2025

REGISTRATION:
Registration now open.

ADMISSION FEE:
(Free for school staff)
Most programs:
$12 per student/parent
Seasonal Farm Tours:
$9 per student/parent
Rainforest Terrarium
$15 per student/parent
Minimum of 20 admissions per program.

PAYMENT DETAILS: Full payment due 3 weeks before your trip, payable by purchase order, school check or credit card. Minimum registration is 20 students/chaperones or $240.

CAPACITY: Capacity is determined by program and will be visible when booking.

TIME: 10am – 12:30pm (including lunch). Buses leave promptly at 12:30pm.

LUNCH: Lunch space is available on outdoor tables, picnic-style seating, or bleachers. Groups must bring their own lunches.

HAYRIDES: All programs include a tractor-drawn hayride around the farm, weather-permitting.

Most programs are outdoors, except where indicated. Programs that include an indoor lesson are followed by an outdoor tour.

Custom Virtual Tours

Virtual tours give students a “farmer’s eye view” of our 47 acres, teaching about growing food sustainably, raising livestock, and NYC history. Programs can be tailored to any age from Pre-K through high school and can be designed to fit curricular need.

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