Open Barn

Join your friends and family to explore the barns and meet our farm animals

Visit us during Open Barn to experience life on a working farm. We offer a relaxed farm setting to learn and engage with agriculture and our local food systems. Visit with our animals, take a wagon ride, and enjoy a few farm focused activities. We hope you find Bowers School Farm to be a place that helps you understand and connect with the land we live on a little bit more.

-community grows here-

Goat Milking
Goat
Child with Horse
Child with Horse
Wagon Ride
Goat Milking
Chicken
Open Barn Guests
Goat Running
Child Pulling Carrots
Pony eating Hay
Cat
Children picking up chickens
Llama
Pig
Chicken

Barns are currently closed

Our barns will open back up for special winter sessions on Jan 12th, Feb 1st,and Mar 8th

For more info and other winter programs, check out our community programs!

Open Barn regular season runs April - October

Admission

Adults: $10

Children ages 2 and up: $10

Seniors: $9

Military: $9

Toddlers under 2 yrs old: free

Tickets may be purchased at the door.

Your visit with us supports our continuing efforts to bring agricultural learning and farm experiences to our community. Thank you!

(members are free - consider joining here)

A little more info . . .

Every Spring, we open our barn doors to the community for access to our farm and animals. We are a full working farm focused on agricultural education, and run Open Barn so folks can visit with our animals, and engage in some hands-on activities around agriculture. Open Barn admission is a benefit of our membership program, with no limits set on the amount of times you can visit.

Some of the fun things to do while on our farm each Open Barn:

  • Visit with our animals (sheep, goats, cattle, chickens, ponies, bunnies, llama, peacock, horses, turkeys, pigs). The animals available for interaction depend on the time and day of the visit, as we aim to do what’s best for each animal’s needs and overall health. We’ll often run activities such as bunny circles, a poultry yard experience, and pony grooming, daily.

  • Dirt play station learn about soil health and composting

  • Use our JR farmer backpacks for deeper investigation on the farm (complimentary)

  • Wagon rides around the farm and through our pasture sites run on the half hours

  • Enjoy a Friday evening fire (with s'more kits available for purchase in our store)

  • Animal care with our 4H students and farmers each morning 9-10am and afternoon 4-5pm

Hands on activities change up by the week/season and may include goat milking, egg collecting and washing, butter making, upcycled maker space activities, planting projects, reading with the animals, baby chick visits and more.

Our store and kitchen are open during Open Barn as well, with grab and go items such as ice cream, donuts, and seasonal meals.

See the FAQ and Bulletin Board below for special dates or activities.

Jr. Farmer Packs

A great way to explore Bowers School Farm

Studying the farm and nature can be as simple as spending time outside and observing what is happening in the air, on the ground, in the pastures, and in our animals' behaviors.

We invite you to use these tools as an opportunity to explore the farm in a deeper way. 

Available for all guests free of charge when you visit us during Open Barn Hours.

Open Barn FAQs

  • Our farm operates rain or shine. Our animals are used to being out in all kinds of weather and have shelter if they choose. If you are concerned about the weather and your visit, please check the forecast. Our tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable.

  • Yes. Please note that our farm mainly has gravel paths with few paved. You may leave your stroller outside of a building or barn to visit animals or take a wagon ride.

  • Our future plans include full accessibility. However, at this time, we do mainly have gravel paths with few paved paths, and/or a step to a wooden bridge path. Wheelchairs are welcome but be aware of our limitations.

  • You may bring light snacks but encourage you to enjoy food from our Farm Kitchen.

  • We have private rooms and spaces to rent during your visit to Open Barns. Please visit our Host an Event page to find out more information.

  • No, pets are not allowed. Most of our farm animals are prey animals and we need them to retain their natural instincts to avoid predator animals since they mostly live in the pastures. Furthermore, we need to keep our farm animals quarantined from outside diseases that can be unknowingly passed between animals.

  • Many times we have a horse or pony available for grooming. However, to ensure its availability prior to your arrival, please check our Special Activities Calendar.

  • Please check our Special Activities Calendar for availability of Wagon Rides.

  • We do offer community classes and workshops throughout various seasons. Under LEARNING, view our community programs tab to see what our current offerings include.

  • You may buy tickets when you arrive at the Visitors Center. You may purchase a Membership online which will allow you to come to Open Barns at any time for no additional fee.

  • The Farm is funded through the Bloomfield Hills School general fund, which is sourced by the state and provides teaching and learning services for students in the Bloomfield Hills Schools. Here at the farm, our top priority is to support our classroom teachers, providing hands-on learning opportunities. Direct expenses for activities that fall outside of the K-12 teaching and learning mission are passed along to participants of community events hosted by the farm.

  • You may come at any time during our Open Barns hours. However, we do stop selling tickets a half hour before closing and you must leave the barn area at closing time. You may visit our Farm Store and Farm Kitchen during their open hours also.

  • You can spend as much time as you like during our Open Barn hours. Typically, people can visit most barns, animals and activities within 1-2 hours.

  • Please look at our seasonal “What to do”. You may visit the animals in our barns, shop the Farm Store and eat at the Farm Kitchen. Special activities are planned throughout the day and listed on our Open Barn page above.

  • The Farm Membership supports the farm and it’s mission. Visit the Membership page for more information. The Membership will allow you free access to the farm during Open Barn days, early access to some events and camps, discounts on some items/events and more.

  • We encourage you to visit the farm and check it out. However, our Membership system is separate from our tickets so any money spent on tickets can not be applied to a Membership. The farm operations and community events are supported through ticket sales and membership. We could not hold community events without your support and it is appreciated.

  • No, we would appreciate that you not feed our animals. Our farm animals have their natural instincts to find their own food and eat what is good for them. Animals that are hand fed may start expecting food which could cause nipping at people which is unsafe behavior.

  • Yes. We encourage you to touch the animals on their backs to see the difference in fur, hair, and wool. Please avoid their faces and mouths. Any unenclosed animal wandering the farm, should not be chased or approached, such as our peacocks and cats.