Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead is preparing to open for the 2022 season, its 44th year of operations.
Opening day for the popular south Overland Park attraction located at 13800 Switzer Rd. is Friday, April 1. at 9 a.m.
The farmstead will remain open through October 31, with daily hours of operation from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Activities
The farmstead allows guests to visit and see more than 250 animals and birds, learn about growing flowers and vegetables, experience a Kanza Indian encampment, see a one-room school house and more.
One of the most popular attractions is the goat bottle feeding, which allows guests to get up close to the farm’s newest baby goats.
Approximately 60 new baby goats are expected to take part in the 2022 season, with the youngest kids born in early March.
Parents can also let their children go fishing with old-fashioned cane poles, blow off some steam at one of the farm’s several playgrounds and take strolls through the gardens.
Cost
Admission is $3 per person for those ages three and older. Children under the age of two receive free admission.
Certain activities on the Farmstead, such as the animal feeding, fishing and mining, do cost an additional $3 to $8.
History
The farmstead first opened on Memorial Day weekend in 1978.
During its first year of operation, roughly 11,000 visitors came to visit the attraction.
It would later be renamed on May 27, 1985, in honor of Overland Park police officer Deanna Rose, who was killed in the line of duty when she was struck by a drunk driver during a traffic stop.
Rose was 26 at the time of her death.
“She was really easy to get along with, real friendly. She had a maturity beyond her years,” said Doug Dunn, a retired police major who worked with Rose during the time of her death. “I knew she loved horses… so I think it was very appropriate they named the Farmstead after her.”
Annual visitors
According to the attraction’s website, for Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead 2021 season:
- it saw a total of 328,716 visitors with them hailing from 48 states and 14 countries,
- visitors used 124,805 bottles of milk to feed baby goats
- and it had volunteers give 18,761 hours of their time to keeping the Farmstead open.
Staffing issues
Deanna rose did take to Twitter and Facebook earlier this year, calling for people interested to apply for open positions before the opening date.
At the time of the announcement, there were 10 open positions listed for the farmstead on the city’s website.
They include:
- animal care attendant,
- blacksmith,
- education programs attendant,
- guest service coordinator,
- gardener,
- laborers,
- point of sale attendant,
- volunteer coordinator
- and other volunteers.
To be a volunteer, you must be 14 years or older. No experience or city residence is required for the position.
