The Victorian Farmhouse Museum
The Victorian Farm House was donated to the Children's Storybook Garden & Museum by Bill and Libby Clark. It was known in Hanford as the Burr Home and was located at the corner of Kent and Eleventh Avenues, south of Hanford in the country. We believe it was built around 1906, possibly as a Sears Roebuck kit home.
The Victorian Farm House is open to guests visiting the Garden. The front bedroom now serves as our Reading Room, where we read to children and students who are guests at the Garden or on field trips. The second bedroom is the museum bedroom with everything as it would have been in the early 1900s.
The historic farmhouse is furnished as it would have been in the 1900s. We hope it will transport guests back to the early 1900s for an authentic Victorian experience. When the Garden is open the historic Victorian home is always open and we welcome guests to tour the house.
With your generous support, we will build the Kitchen Classroom and Learning Center.
Inspiration for the future Kitchen Classroom.
The Exhibits
The Kitchen Classroom & Learning Center will feature exhibits and educational programs from farm to table, focusing on the past, present and future of farming in the Central Valley. Our field trip lessons are all interactive and hands-on and offer age-appropriate lessons to children. We provide a setting for discovery and present challenging, educational exhibits with a goal to instill a desire for learning and develop respect and empathy for others. We have joined Let's Move! Museums & Gardens and are committed to offering interactive experiences that promote healthy eating and physical activity.
Farming Past
Children are able to visualize how early Kings County farmers lived and will learn to respect and appreciate all that came before them. Children get to handle period artifacts and can step back in time to experience the many facets of farm life. Children are able to explore the Farm History Museum House. They can play and learn in the Log Cabin, Charlotte's Dairy Barn, Nolan's Critter Creek flowing with water and a hand pump that really pumps water!
Farming Present & Future
The Learning Center programs feature interactive exhibits that illustrate current farming practices and the challenges facing Central Valley farmers, today, and how that affects our future. Classes participate in planting, growing and harvesting seasonal crops in the Kings County Farm Garden and Children's Kitchen Garden. They also participate in cooking classes, tastings, and demonstrations. Students learn about nutrition, the importance of healthy eating and staying fit.