A Day of Learning and Fun on the Farm

Click here to
Reserve a Date

Or call (402) 332-4200 for more information or e-mail info@valaspumpkinpatch.com

Part of our mission at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch & Fall Festival is to provide education through entertainment. We now live in a time when many children think milk comes from refrigerators and vegetables are grown in produce aisles. The land that is now Vala’s Pumpkin Patch has been a working farm for over 100 years. When school children visit Vala’s, we want them to have fun running through the pumpkin fields, and visiting our petting corral, but our greatest hope is that they will leave with a greater understanding of agriculture and an appreciation for Nebraska heritage.

There is lots to learn at Vala's (allow 1 to 3 hours):
Teachers and parents may lead their class:

• on a hayride to the pumpkin field
• on the Pumpkin Creek Train Ride
• to the “milk the cow” display in the Dairy Barn
• to see the Pigtucky Derby Pig Races (always a favorite)
• to see the Pumpkin-Eating Dragon Show
• through the Storybook Barn
• into the Petting Corral and Bunnyville
• to play in the Corn Wagon Play area
• to see the educational displays about Honey Bees, Farm Life, Cow Facts, and Railroads
• Into the Apple Education Barn
• to play on the Great Pumpkin Jump

FIVE Great Fall Field Trip Tours to choose from:

Apple Pickin’ Fun, for all ages
September 29th through October 17th, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 3:30 pm
Your class will be taken into the Apple Education Barn and then into the orchard to learn from our staff members about how apples are grown. Children will learn how to pick an apple, the importance of honey bees, how apples grow in the orchard, and other agricultural information appropriate for the developmental level of the class. Each child will pick and take home a small bag of apples.

Cost:	$6.50 per child for Admission, Train Ride, bag of apples, and activities
	$6.50 per parent or adult volunteer for Admission, Train Ride, and activities $6.50 for each sibling, includes Admission, Train Ride, & a bag of apples
	FREE for Teachers and Paid School Staff, Admission, Train Ride, and activities

 

Pumpkin Harvest Fun, for all ages
September 29th through October 31st, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 3:30 pm
This is a teacher-guided experience on the farm. Children take a hay rack ride to the pumpkin fields, pick a pumpkin, and visit all the other activities on the farm. Teachers, look for the Apple Sign for on-the-farm teaching opportunities. Each child will take home a small pumpkin and a Vala’s Pumpkin Patch coloring book.

Cost:	$6.50 per child for Admission, Train Ride, Pumpkin, and activities
	$6.50 per parent or adult volunteer for Admission, Train Ride, and activities $6.50 for each sibling, includes Admission, Train Ride, & a small pumpkin
	FREE for Teachers and Paid School Staff, Admission, Train Ride, and activities

 

Apple and Pumpkin Pickin' Combination Fun, for all ages
September 29th through October 16th, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 3:30 pm
Your class will have all of the experiences in the Apple Pickin’ Fun and Pumpkin Harvest Fun Programs. This field trip will have your children talking about the farm for months afterward.

Cost:	$7.50 per child for Admission, Train Ride, Pumpkin, Apples, and activities
	$6.50 per parent or adult volunteer for Admission, Train Ride, and activities $6.50 for each sibling, includes Admission, Train Ride & a small pumpkin
	FREE for Teachers and Paid School Staff, Admission, Train Ride, and activities

Calamity Jan's Gold Mining Camp,  for 3rd & 4th Graders

September 29th through October 31st, Monday through Friday, 9 am to 3:30 pm

Give your 3rd or 4th grade students a hands-on experience "sluicing" for gold like the miners in the old west. Our staff members will give students a brief history of old west mining, the need for sluicing, and a demonstration. Then each child will receive their own bag of  "mining rough" containing gems or fool's gold. They will receive a bag for their gems and a card to identify the various gems and minerals. After the lesson, visit the rest of Vala's Pumpkin Patch, take a train ride, and pick a pumpkin from the field.

Cost:       $9.00 per student for Admission, Gold Mining, Train Ride, Pumpkin, and activities

                 $6.50 per parent or adult volunteer for Admission, Train Ride, and activities

                 $6.50 for each sibling of students, includes a small pumpkin

                 FREE for Teachers/Paid Staff

It's All About Pollination!

For Preschoolers through 4th Graders

New for 2008! Offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays in October, this 1/2 hour educational lesson is taught by honeybee expert Wendy Fletcher, owner of It's All About Bees. Lessons are designed differently for each grade level. Learn about pollination, the importance of bees on the farm, hive behavior, how bees make honey, how honey is collected, and more. See the bees at work in the glass bee hive. Students will take home a 12 oz. Honey Bear. This is science full of fun! Before or after the lesson, visit the rest of Vala's Pumpkin Patch, take a train ride, and pick a pumpkin from the field.

Cost:  $8.50 per student for Admission, Lesson, Train Ride, Pumpkin, Honey Bear, & activities

            $6.50 per parent or adult volunteer for Admission, Train Ride, Lesson, & activities

            $6.50 for siblings of students, includes a small pumpkin

            FREE for Teachers/Paid Staff

Add one of these Learning Experiences

to the above programs:

Pioneer Candle Dipping,

for ages 7 & up (2nd Grade & up):

Each child will learn how and why the pioneers used candles for light. They will each dip a candle to take home with them.

Additional Cost:     $1.00 per child

Wagon Train Doll-Making  & Wooden Wagon Train Model-Making,

for ages 6 & up (1st Grade & up):

Each child will learn about life of the pioneers as they traveled west by wagon train and choose to make either a rag doll or a wooden model of a covered wagon. All materials and instructions are included. Allow 30 to 45 minutes.

Additional Cost:     $5.00 per child                                           

 

Check-In:
Upon arrival one teacher should go to the Admissions Barn window, pay, and receive the stickers for admission. Please have the other teachers and volunteers unload the children and have them wait near the entrance, but out of the parking lot. A Vala’s staff member will be helping to direct the children to a safe area to wait. The pumpkin tour includes coloring books and bags. These, along with the stickers, may be picked up and paid for in advance to allow for quick admission to the farm.

Amount of Time:
School groups may stay until 3:30 pm if time permits. Some groups stay for the day and other groups stay 1 to 3 hours. The Pigtucky Derby Pig races, with an educational lesson included, lasts 20 minutes and is scheduled every hour on the hour beginning at 10 am. The hayride to the pumpkin field lasts about 30 minutes, and is a favorite activity of school children. The train ride is about 8 minutes long.

Lunch:

Cheese Pizza, Hot Dog, or Peanut Butter Sandwich, Chips, and Drink
Cost:	$3.50 per person

Class Snack Pack:

1 gallon of Apple or Cherry Cider (serves 15 to 20)
Cups provided for each person
2 dozen Fall cookies
Cost:	$17.00

Classrooms are also welcome to bring their own food. There are plenty of picnic tables.

 

Homeschooler Days:

When: Tuesday, September. 30th and

            Tuesday, October 7th

Parents and their homeschooled children may take advantage of the school group student rates and stay all day and evening. No reservation is necessary for the Pumpkin Harvest Fun.  Apple Education, Gem Mining, and Pollination lessons need to be scheduled before 2 pm. (Call 402-332-4200 to set this up) Simply identify yourself as a Homeshool Family. All adults are $6.50 and babies under age 2 are free.