A Children's Play Farm Market Teaches Kids About How Direct Marketing Works

Posted by Carol Miller|March 18, 2016

A Canadian farm market has found a charming way to educate young children about how the food supply chain works.

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Start of play market at Meadows Maze at Hopcott Farm

Children start by picking up a harvest basket, then visiting each harvest site within the barn.
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The apple harvest

Workers need to keep an eye on the restocking the apples, but otherwise this is a self-service activity.
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The carrot harvest (and potato harvest on the back side)
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The grape harvest
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The corn harvest
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The wool harvest

Hopcott Farm includes several animal-based harvests.
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The egg harvest
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The beef harvest

Hopcott Farm doesn't shy away from the fact that meat comes from animals.
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The honey harvest
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The milk harvest

Children can practice milking a cow at this harvest.
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How the milking feature works

The bucket that stands in for an udder has holes drilled into the bottom and rubber teats inserted. It's just a matter of pouring the "milk" in the blue bucket back into the pick one between groups of children to keep this exhibit operational.
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Play Market instructions

Once children complete their harvests, they head to the farmers' market.
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The farmers market

Children place their harvests in the appropriate bucket at the farmers market.

Hopcott Farms in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, has two locations, a market and an agritourism site. Meadows Maze, the name the Hopcott family gave the agritourism location, has several attractions to entice families to visit, including a large maze, which is where the operation’s name comes from. Its children’s farmers’ market is another standout.

Set in a bright red barn, the farmers market encourages children to harvest play food products from exhibits that mimic the real world. Apples are taken from trees, and carrots are pulled from the ground, and so on. Some displays are more interactive than others, although all of them encourage children to take action of some sort.

Check out this series of photos that show how the experience plays out. You should note, however, that these photos were taken in early February (during the NAFDMA Convention), so they were taken during the off season.