Open Barn
Join your friends and family to explore the barns and meet our farm animals
Bowers School Farm is a learning environment offering authentic experiences throughout one's time on the property. Each visit will be different from the previous, though the constant will always be a wagon ride, a fan favorite! Come back weekly to see animal and plant growth, get to know our farmers, and find a place that helps you understand the land we live on a little bit more.
-community grows here-
What will I encounter?
Each visit will be different from the previous and authentic activities will be happening throughout the day! What may you encounter? You may come across chicken experience, goat milking, baby goat visits, a craft, and more!
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 every half hour
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 4-6pm
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.
Open April - October 2024
Admission cost:
Adults: $10
Children ages 2-18 yrs old: $10
Seniors: $9
Military: $9
Toddlers age 1 and younger: free
You can purchase tickets at the door or online.
(members are free - consider joining here)
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.
Dates of Interest:
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May 10 - screening of documentary Kiss the Ground.
May 10 - 11: interactive compost demos and tours of compost lab.
May 11: soil microorganisms and worm exploration.
See details in flyer below.
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Help us support our local ecosystems with native plants in your garden this year! Join Bowers School Farm and East
Michigan Native Plants for our 2024 Michigan Native Plant Sale. We have a wide variety of grasses and wildflowers for purchase with some changes from last year.
Pre-order your plants today for pick-up in May. We are selling 2.5" junior sizes at $5 each. The kits are a tray of 2.5" pot size with 32 plants and come with a design plan for $99.
Pick-up is on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 10am - 2pm during Open Barn. We will also have plants available to purhase.
All proceeds from the Michigan Native Plant Sale will support the Master Gardeners of Oakland County who volunteer to provide our horticultural gardens.
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Gather your friends and family to enjoy art, live music, bonfires, local vendors, fresh farm fare from the Bowers Farm Kitchen, and for the 21+ crowd, the beer garden sponsored by Friends of the Farm select Friday evenings this summer!
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Gather your friends and family to enjoy art, live music, bonfires, local vendors, fresh farm fare from the Bowers Farm Kitchen, and for the 21+ crowd, the beer garden sponsored by Friends of the Farm select Friday evenings this summer!
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Gather your friends and family to enjoy art, live music, bonfires, local vendors, fresh farm fare from the Bowers Farm Kitchen, and for the 21+ crowd, the beer garden sponsored by Friends of the Farm select Friday evenings this summer!
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Open Barn is “closed” in lieu of our annual festivals.
Oct. 4: Bourbon, Barns & Brews
Oct. 5-6: Fall Festival
Special Open Barn Composting Weekend
Join us for a special open barn celebration at Bowers Farm on Friday 5/10 and Saturday 5/11 as we celebrate International Compost Awareness Week.
Celebrated annually, International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is designed to promote the benefits of composting and compost itself for effective resource management, soil health, and plant growth. Join us for “all things compost” ICAW celebration with movie night in the barn, wagon rides to the Compost Lab, games, stories, demonstrations and more. Learning about compost has never been this much fun!
Please join us on Friday 5/10 to watch the award winning documentary Kiss The Ground (45 minute family friendly version) in the barn. Bring a chair or blanket, or simply take a load off on one of our comfy hay bales.
Please join us on Saturday 5/11 as we take a wagon ride over to the Bowers Compost Lab for temperature checks and take a deeper dive into the simple bokashi method for recycling food scraps.
Want to learn more about composting, look HERE.
Farm After Five Fridays
Open Barn FAQs
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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.
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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.
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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.
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You may bring light snacks but encourage you to enjoy food from our Farm Kitchen.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Please check our Special Activities Calendar for availability of Wagon Rides.
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We do offer community classes and workshops throughout various seasons. Under LEARNING, view our community programs tab to see what our current offerings include.
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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. You may also buy tickets in advance of your arrival online (online tickets are only for the selected date and can not be refunded or exchanged).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.