Harvest Fest

Celebrate Harvest Time at the Museum with harvest decorations, straw maze, visiting farm animals, corn & soybean play, and much more! Harvest Fest runs October 1 – 24 with special programming, exhibits, and events throughout the fall festival:

Events

• Friday, Oct. 1: Virtual Field Trip to Backlund Acres! Join us for a virtual field trip to Backlund Acres! We are going to meet chickens, pigs, cows and check out how to grow microgreens. Sheila Backlund believes that healthy soil brings healthy animals which in turn bring healthy people. Live on the screen in the Loft at 10am!
• Saturday, Oct. 2: Harvest Fun with old-fashioned games, Suzuki School of Music Fiddlers, chicken poop bingo, LaMancha goats, weaving, and an outdoor (weather permitting) concert with Mankato Symphony Orchestra at 1pm! Admission to the Museum and the concert is free from 1pm-4pm. More details and full schedule of the day’s events here.
• Saturday, Oct. 9:  Future Harvest with International Day of the Girl Celebration featuring Women in Agriculture and Health Science. Admission is free for children in Grades 4 and up. Read full line up of events here.
• Friday, Oct. 15: Fuzzy Friends Pet Clinic with staff from Minnesota Valley Pet Hospital from 10:30-11:30am, and Valley Veggies will be on site with harvest foods and crops from 1-3pm.
• Saturday, Oct. 16: Healthy Harvest with Valley Veggies from 1-3pm, and the Grain Bin Safety exhibit will be at CMSM to learn all about being safe around the farm. We will also have two visiting Alpacas from Lazy Day Farm Alpacas from 10am-noon.
• Thursday & Friday, Oct. 21 & 22: Mayo Clinic Health System Careers & Wellness Workshops  where we will be exploring casting, splinting, and suturing with MCHS medical providers. Mayo Clinic Health System requires guests over 2 years old to be masked while interacting with our staff. We will provide disposable masks if needed. Thank you for your understanding.
• Saturday, Oct. 23:  Harvest Machines – Tractor Alley at CMSM! Stop by and see a variety of farming equipment outside around our parking lot. Which one would you like to drive? You can even have your child’s picture taken on a small tractor surrounded by harvest decorations from 9:00am – 11:30am. We will also have a visiting pony from Pinewood Stables in the Alltech Farm Animal Experience from noon-2pm and pumpkins for sale to support Mankato FFA – while supplies last!

Exhibits

• Harvest Fest is all about agriculture! All of your favorite agricultural exhibits from the Ag & Nature Lab will be scattered throughout the Museum – shear a sheep, care for a cow, grow a Three Sisters Garden, transport your farm harvest by train, truck or barge, and so much more!
• Women in Ag Profiles: Women in Ag Profiles will be a part of the Museum’s exhibits during Harvest Fest.  Look for these life-sized cutouts of local women leaders who support careers in agriculture. Is a career in agriculture in  your future?
• Outdoors in the Alltech Farm Animal Experience & Dotson Back 40, we will have a straw maze, corn and soybean play, visiting animals, harvest decorations, and much more!

Harvest Fest 2021 Sponsors