By Pam Creech
Contributing Writer
Children and adults will pet sheep, churn butter and ride a pony at the Children’s Museum of Wilmington Saturday, May 9. The sixth annual Family Farm Day will take place from 9 a.m. to noon.
“Family Farm Day is free with admission or membership,” said Tiffany Siuta, the museum’s assistant director. “Farm Day is for all ages. Last year, we had a 6-month-old petting sheep. It’s a lot of hands-on experiences and giving kids a different outlet of play and learning. It’s a nice opportunity for kids who live in the city to see farm life in a safe setting.”
This year’s lineup of animals includes ducks, sheep, rabbits, goats, pigs and a pony.
Participants will learn about chickens and eggs as well as about farm life and work.
“We’ll have kids making butter in the science area. They’ll learn how simple it is to make butter with just one ingredient,” Siuta said.
The 2014 Family Farm Day had 198 participants, and Siuta hopes the 2015 event will have a higher attendance rate.
More animals will visit the museum in June.
“We’ll have some raptors coming from the Cape Fear Raptor Center,” Siuta said. “They’ll be doing a demonstration on how the animals are found and the importance of sustaining forests and wildlife. They’ll either be bringing a hawk or an owl.”
As fall approaches, some museum activities will focus on preparing children for a new school year.
“Tools for School is going to be geared for children who are going to school for the first time,” Siuta said. The program will also help children who are transferring to a new school. The event will provide services, such as free vision tests.
“We’ll also be distributing literature from the school systems with important dates parents and children need to know,” Siuta said. Free school supplies will be distributed.
Programs like Family Fun Day and Tools for School are supported by museum fundraisers, like the Fourth Annual Fore the Children Golf Tournament that took place at Cape Fear Country Club on April 20.
“We did really well. We profited over $25,000,” Siuta said. “We doubled what we made last year.”
The amount of golfers also doubled from the 2014 tournament.
“This year, we had 120 golfers,” Siuta said. “We had to borrow some golf carts from Porter’s Neck because they hadn’t had a tournament that large before. We broke all sorts of records this year.”
Siuta said the good weather may have contributed to the event’s success.
“The forecast called for rain, but it didn’t happen,” she said.
