Today you will hardly surprise anyone with contact zoos - hundreds of small menageries work all over Russia, where you can pet and feed them with your hands. However, educational urban farms are gaining great popularity around the world, allowing people in cities, especially children, to get to know animals and plants better. One such park has recently opened in Moscow, at VDNH.
Concept
The main idea of such a farm is to join the living world, to understand how to care for animals, how to grow plants. The essence of the project is to give children not only socialize with the animal and stroke it, but also feed it, see how and in what conditions animals live on a real farm. That is, the goal is not to show the animal, as in an ordinary zoo, but to tell the child how a person lives next to them - prepares food for them, builds shelters, cleans corrals. That is why there are no cages, and those animals that live in the real estate right on the street, freely walk around here.
Also, various crops are grown on the city farm, the care of which can be shared by the whole family. In addition, such facilities are always a platform for various educational children's programs.
In addition, the “City Farm” at VDNKh sets as its goal the humane treatment of animals, which is often lacking in other contact zoos in Russia. That is why the administration stated that there will never be cubs, only adult animals. In fact, here you can play with the kids and hold the rabbit in your arms, however, only under the supervision of a zoologist.
The concept of the park is really very interesting and impressive, but it is still under development and phased construction, therefore the reviews about the project “City Farm at VDNKh” are often not very flattering: people describe the park with mixed feelings, noting that there are very few animals here, no For example, pigs, as the inhabitants of any farm. Many people compare the farm with an ordinary landscaped playground or park, but the cost of visiting it is considered overpriced. Nevertheless, the children are always enthusiastic about the animals and the entertainment offered, therefore the City Farm located at VDNH continues to develop and be filled with interesting objects.
World analogues
Europe has long been offering a family farm holiday format. For example, in Norway there is a whole network of Bø Gardsturisme farms where you can come for a few days, work with animals, go fishing, ride bicycles and boats.
And quite nearby, in Sweden, in the gardens of Fredricksdal, they offer not only to look at village animals, but also to plunge into the atmosphere of life on a farm in the last century. They teach ancient crafts, show the way of life of the 18th century, starting from everyday life and ending with costumes, and traditional rural dishes are served for lunch.
In the USA, right in Manhattan, Battery Urban Farm has been opened, where schoolchildren are shown how various plants grow, taught how to grow and care for them. Not only flowers and ornamental crops grow here, but also vegetables, fruits, cereals. All of them are organic, therefore, in addition to teaching children, they instill a love of natural and healthy products.
Livestock
Pets and birds - the main object of the project “City Farm” (VDNH). You can find the following objects here:
- The poultry yard where ducks, geese, hens and other poultry live.
- Shed - goats, cows, donkeys, sheep live here.
- Rabbitry, where rabbits of different breeds can be fed and held in their hands.
In addition, the “City Farm” at VDNKh has a pond for waterfowl and a platform for grazing animals, and many of them, especially birds, generally walk wherever they want, so you can find, for example, chicken eggs in the grass. The animal pens are equipped with tablets that indicate the type and breed of the animal, nickname, and indicate that it loves this beast.
So, in the pen with donkeys, you can find out that there live Glasha and Businka, who are related to the donkey Lyusya, the star of the Soviet comedy “Prisoner of the Caucasus”. Boris’s goat’s tablet says he loves attention, carrots and cereals. But unusual humpback cows cannot be fed, as the plate warns.
By the way, you can feed animals with special food, with which machines are everywhere. You need to buy tokens in advance at the box office and exchange them for a treat. And to stroke the animals, you first need to wash your hands. For this, washstands and dispensers with an antiseptic are installed. Also in the territory there are always zoologists who not only talk about animals, but also show how to care for them.
Plant growing
Here, at VDNH, the “City Farm” will show how various crops grow, and local agronomists will talk about caring for them. To do this, here in the warm season a garden and a garden are laid out. To clearly demonstrate what farming is, workshops and presentations of various plants, as well as training programs, are held. So, visitors will be taught to understand various plants, even exotic and tropical ones, they will talk about how to plant and grow vegetables, herbs and fruits and what devices will help with this.
Creative and educational objects
In addition to the fact that the platforms for animals themselves are aimed at education and enlightenment, there are also special facilities. For example, a fodder kitchen, where under the guidance of zoologists you can cook food for the inhabitants of the farm.
There are also creative workshops where visitors are taught traditional crafts, such as pottery, basket weaving, wood carving.
Recreation areas
In fact, the entire territory of the park, and this is several hectares, is a recreation area for the whole family. A clean well-groomed area with fresh air, a relaxing atmosphere and the smell of a real village offers its visitors “City Farm” at VDNKh. Photos of pavilions and different parts of the park eloquently speak of a truly comfortable place for the whole family to relax.
A large playground is organized right at the entrance, which will be interesting for kids of different ages, as well as for children with disabilities.
On the banks of the Kamenka River, a sandy beach is equipped with comfortable sun loungers that allow you to lie down and relax, as well as real haystacks exuding a cozy aroma. You can have a bite to eat in a cafe or in a coffee kiosk, which is difficult to pass by — it is made in the form of a pencil.
activity
Of course, the “City Farm” at VDNKh gives you the opportunity to take a walk on your own, but the most interesting things will be told to children at special workshops and educational programs.
So, master classes are held on the construction of animal pens, weaving nets for fishing, milking goats, cleaning donkeys, etc. Lectures are conducted in a playful form on the benefits of milk or on the characteristics of wool, classes on soil science, plant propagation, stories about interesting garden and garden tools and unusual designs and much more.
You can buy a tour of the entire farm. It is held for groups of 3 people and costs from 1200 rubles. For fans to play interesting games, a farm quest has been prepared, the duration of which is 45 minutes. Groups from 5 people are accepted for the quest. For participation you need to pay 800 rubles per person.
And if you want the child to learn as much as possible about the life of the farm, you can send him to a young farmer's school. It includes 6 classes, during which children learn a lot about pets and plants, learn how to care for them, prepare food for animals and birds, fish, milk goats and much more. Children from 6 to 12 years old are admitted to the school, the cost of the entire course is 3500 rubles, the school works all year round.
Summer holidays to good use
In the summer, at the “Farm” there is a children's club “Vacations at the VDNKh city farm”. The shift lasts 2 weeks, classes are held throughout the day from Monday to Friday. As part of the shift, children spend all day in the fresh air, communicate with animals and grow plants in the local garden, and at the same time study at workshops on crafts, animation, and photography. Also for children conduct sports and creative events. Shifts open from the beginning of June, and each has its own theme. So, if you wish, you can take a child at least for the whole summer:
- In the first shift, children learn to plant plants and prepare for the farming season.
- In the second shift there are more classes for caring for animals and working in a stable.
- The third shift - in early July - for lovers of fishing with the indispensable holiday of Neptune in the best traditions of Soviet pioneer camps.
- The fourth is devoted to various crafts.
- The fifth shift will teach children how to craft and build, from simple stools to animal pens and even real hives.
- The sixth, final shift, in late August completes the farming season with the harvest and a great holiday.
Schoolchildren from 7 to 13 years old take the shift. The cost of one shift is 27 thousand rubles, but you can bring a child to any one-time lesson for 3 thousand. The price, in addition to training and entertainment, includes three meals a day.
Farm Development Plans
Gradually, the administration of the complex introduces more and more entertainment and educational sites in the park. Despite the fact that many reviews criticize “Farm” for the lack of animal diversity and too expensive entry, the project continues to develop. So, last year the “City Farm” at VDNH worked only in the summer, and since 2016 it has been year-round - warm pavilions and entertainments for different times of the year have appeared. Further, it is planned to ennoble and use the opposite bank of the Kamenka River, where a place for fishing will be equipped. Different types of fish will be launched into the pond and river to introduce visitors to their life.
The crop section will be replenished with a greenhouse to make this block year-round. There will also be a dovecote, new animals and comfortable sitting areas.
Prices
An entrance ticket, or, as they say here, a farm contribution, costs 200 rubles on weekdays and 300 on weekends per person. For children from one to four years old, a children's ticket is valid - 100 rubles on weekdays and 150 on weekends. Children under one year can go for free, and a family of 3 can visit the park for 500 rubles on weekdays and for 800 rubles on weekends.
Free entry is valid for World War II Veterans and disabled people of the first and second groups. For large families, disabled people of the 3rd group and pensioners, a discount on the farm contribution of 50% applies.
At the box office you can buy a badge for animal feed. It costs 50 rubles, and one token in the park in the machine you can buy a portion of crackers or carrots, or special food. The portions are small, but you can’t bring your treats.
Master classes on various topics cost from 200 rubles per person, and excursions - from 500 rubles.
Opening hours and schedule of the “City Farm” at VDNH
The farm is open to visitors year-round from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday is a sanitary day, the park is closed at this time, all other days are working as usual.
Excursions are held 5 times a day. Each duration is 1 hour, groups go one after another with an interval of 30 minutes. The first tour starts at 12 o’clock, and the last at 18:00.
“City Farm” at VDNKh: address, how to get there
The park is located at VDNH, behind Pavilion No. 44 “Rabbit breeding”. This is almost the very end of the exhibition, the territory where livestock pavilions were located in Soviet times. To learn more about how to get to the “City Farm” (VDNH), you can download the map on the park’s website.
From the metro station “Botanical Garden” to the entrance to the farm, walk only 10 minutes, you need to enter the gate through Likhoborsky passage and turn right along the Ring Road. The only pavilion in that area is just “Rabbit breeding”, next to it is the “City Farm” at VDNKh.
How to get from the main entrance to the territory of VDNH? It will take a lot longer from him - about 30 minutes. Move along the main avenue, and after the Cosmos pavilion keep right and behind the Livestock pavilion turn right onto Likhoborsky passage. You can also take a minibus and for 40 rubles drive to the desired pavilion.