The Official U.S. Maple Syrup Almanac 2014 2nd Edition | Page 87

sentations. Bored kids may remember your maple farm tour negatively. Rehearse beforehand. Most of Critz’s school tours are for elementary-aged children, she said. She reads “Sugarbush Spring” by Marsha Wilson Chall, making connections between the storybook and her farm. If you read a book, it helps to turn the pictures towards the students so they can see them. Props like buckets, tubing and taps help the children know what they’ll later see in the woods. Next, the children ride in a wagon to the woods to see where and how the Critz family collects the sap. Critz said the children enjoy “helping” in any way they can. The last stop is where the children see how sap becomes syrup in the evaporator. “Going hands-on is very engaging to the kids,” Critz said. “We try to make it so fun that the kids want to bring their parents back.” Break it up with engaging and brief presentations at each stop. Instead of, “This is an evaporator. The sap goes in here...” a speaker could start by asking, “Who can tell me how evaporation works?” The speakers at each tour stop need to allow children to ask a few questions, too. Make sure all your employees can answer at least basic questions about syrup production, she said. A farm representative should lead the group at all times to explain what’s happening on the farm and help prevent injuries or damage to equipment. Logo hats, buttons, shirts or vests could help identify farm representatives to guests on the tour. End the tour in the gift shop with samples and a bag of logo trinkets to take home. Critz says she included a tiny jug of syrup to encourage the family to come back for more. Make sure the bottle clearly states your farm name and where your products are available. Critz gives the teachers multiple copies of a letter to send home to the parents after the tour. It thanks them for allowing their child to attend the field trip, outlines what the child experienced, and offers suggested questions regarding the trip to get the child talking. Otherwise, “when parents ask how the field trip went, all they say is, ‘It was fun,’” Critz said. As a soft-sell approach, Critz includes a coupon at the bottom of the letter towards the farm’s pancake breakfast weekends. Critz charges $5 per child for farm tours, so she’s sure to ramp up the educational value to make the tour worthwhile to the teachers. “When budgets are cut so far back, they need to rationalize to their funding source that this is an educational field trip,” Critz said. “Buses cost a lot of money to run.” You can have confidence in us Dealer for H2O Innovation Sunrise Metal Shop Artisan Printing of Vermont Marcland GBM Call us for all your Maple Needs 413.585.8820 413.320.2216 northhadleysugarshack.com 181 River Drive North Hadley, MA 01035 U.S. Maple Syrup Almanac 2014 For out latest list of used equipment, visit our website, catskillmountainmaple.com WE BUY BULK SYRUP Phone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Email: [email protected] 87