Canada Agriculture and Food Museum …Behind the Scenes Tour … The Sheep, Summer Camp & Fun!

We welcome you to come along as Ontario Visited Tours the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum … continues … The Sheep, Summer Camp & Fun!

"Resting Time"
Canada Agriculture and Food Museum

 The Sheep …

They keep historic “all mixed breeds” to showcase to visitors the varieties Canada has. The sheep are mixed 5 sheep, 3 goats. The birthing process is planned. They sell many of the "babies" but keep some as well. The animals that they keep become familiar with the crowds and visitors. Sometimes though, an animal just isn't that "people friendly", then is sold as it is not a good "fit" for the Farm. I asked Kelly is visitors got to "feed" the animals. Although sometimes visitors are welcomed to join in the process with a guided "red t-shirt" instructor, the Farm is not a "Petting Zoo" or "Play Farm". They don't offer the 25 cent cone to feed the goats for example. This truly is a "working farm". The integrity for the future of this facility depends, in part, on visitors respecting this wonderful facility and all it contributes to the natural course of time.

As a Museum, the barns are kept in the most historic presentation as possible. They have added many large black and white photos from their archives along the corridors for visitors to catch a glimpse of days long gone by. I like to think of it as "walking through history to our future". For those of you who don't know, the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum is associated with the Canada Science & Technology and Aviation and Space Museums.

Summer Camp …

"Making Bacon"
Canada Agriculture and Food Museum

Summer Camp is a popular activity at the Museum, being booked up quickly. The activities that students at the camp offered will depend on their ages. There is a lot to do; kids can rack the bellies of the animals; clean the troughs, and so much more. The camp ages range from 4 - 14 bracket and daily chores can be done. An example is the Junior Farmers Camp for kids 12-14. Perfect for “farmers-in-the-making” who live in the city, this camp offers youth a chance to take part in a real, working farm! Campers “adopt” a calf, feed and groom it, muck out the stalls, and learn more about the agriculture industry. The CAFM offers unique programs such as Healthy Kids Quest! The program encourages and empowers students to make healthy lifestyle choices. A healthy, balanced lifestyle is particularly important for children, since habits established in childhood often stay with us for life.

During our walk about, we came across a weigh scale. It made it fun as children could "guess the weight" of a "pig". They welcomed the kids to stand on the scale, one at a time to visualize how much just a 3 month old pig weighed for example. Sometimes, especially with smaller children, it took 12 kids just to get to the weight of one small animal. I did ask about what "past market weight" might be, 500 pounds was the answer. You can only hope that the "pig" was personable and would be able to live on to be a great "pet". The Museum has several breeds of pigs and their piglets are the highlights of the Museum’s swine barn (a section of the Small Animal Barn).

"Play, Rest, Play, Sleep, Play"
Canada Agriculture and Food Museum

Stay tuned for more “Behind the Scenes” Tour with the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum ~ The Science You Eat! (in the meantime, check out their great website for lots of fun and information at http://cafmuseum.techno-science.ca/en/index.php.)