New Thanksgiving Point venue offers children immersive farm experience

LEHI — After 10 years of planning and another two years of construction, Thanksgiving Point in Lehi cut the ribbon on its latest outdoor venue, Curiosity Farms. As the latest attraction, the farm promises an immersive experience for children to learn about the latest in farming education and technology.

When first experiencing, "You're going to learn real fast that it is not just a farm, it is an ag-tech center for kids," Thanksgiving Point CEO McKay Christensen said Thursday morning at the farm's opening ceremonies.

"And when kids come here to Curiosity Farms, they are going to get confidence, not only in themselves but in science and technology. And we hope that what that does is it gives a little spark to these kids, so that they go on to pursue STEM further in their life because they've experienced the joy of it here at Curiosity Farms."

On Thursday, members of Thanksgiving Point and the media were invited to a first-look visit to see what sets Curiosity Farm apart from any old petting zoo. Along with a walking tour of the new venue, visitors were offered an aerial tour of the farm via hot air balloon.

Through Saturday, Thanksgiving Point members will have an exclusive opportunity to enter the park. It will be open to the general public starting Monday.

"We'll probably see between 10 (thousand) and 20,000 people" during the members-only dates, Erica Brown, chief marketing officer at Thanksgiving Point, told the Deseret News. "On opening day, on Monday, my guess would be several thousand."

What to expect at Curiosity Farms

In addition to having piglets, bunnies, ponies and chicks, Thanksgiving Point's newest venue teaches children the connection between animal care and science.

"We want to do a lot more field trips here, especially now that it's really science-tech focused," Abby Allard, communication manager for Thanksgiving Point, said during the media tour Thursday morning. "We can bring kids here to learn, really, why farmers are scientists. I think that's something so underrated, people don't talk about it enough. But farmers are the original scientists, right? They were measuring weather before there was meteorology. They were testing and planting different things."

In the livestock learning lab, children will be allowed — twice a day — to learn how to properly milk the farm's cow, Peggy, who produces up to 75 pounds of milk a day. One of the lab's more entertaining experiences is the game "tenderloin, where you match a male cow with a female cow and see what kind of cow they create. So you can swipe through just like Tinder, swipe for your matches," Allard joked.

"We've got a bunch of hands-on experiences, but the real killer is our 40-foot-tall alfalfa climber. So kids can just climb all the way to the top," she added.

During the tour, there was the latest farmhand, Burro. Like a wireless wheelbarrow, Stephen Ashton, senior director of Curiosity Farms, explained that Burro can work on a GPS system to take loads of hay or other resources around the farm without running into obstacles, or it can be set to a mode that allows it to follow the person it's assisting.

Perhaps the most impressive attraction at the farm was the Grow Tech Gardens, where the future of agriculture is really shown off.

"We can grow 10,000 head of lettuce a month in just a tiny little space, and up to half the feed for our animals in a tiny little room with about 3% of the water that is normally used to grow crops," Christensen said. "That's just a simple example of the type of technology that you'll see on the farm."

Children can participate by helping the urban farm manager, Cicily Arnsworth, in the plant lab. The hydroponic containers are filled with plants such as thyme, basil, parsley, cilantro, etc. Once planted, the children can come back to check on the progress of their produce, which Arnsworth said takes about seven weeks from planting to harvesting.

"We hope that as kids come and participate in our programs here, they'll get excited about technology and science, and they'll enjoy the beauty and fun of Curiosity Farms," Christensen said.

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