Kids
The “triple looper ride” is the most thrilling fun for the
Funk children and their friends who visit the farm. The
girls climb the rafters to catch the rope and swing back
and forth before dropping into a soft landing on stacks of
hay.
Korne r a
Summertime With The Funk Family
LOU ANN GOOD
Food And Family
Features Editor
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
Friends of the Funk family
love coming to the farm to play.
There’s so much to do. And, such
a big place to run.
The farm is lots of fun for chil
dren but lots of work for parents.
“We are just an ordinary fami
ly,” said Pam.
Perhaps, but not too many
families have a 100-acre family
farm that has been in the family
for 200 years. That was long be
fore Katy, 10; Lindsay, 8; Aimee,
4; and Kyle, 2, were born.
The children are the eighth
generation to live on the farm.
The children like to help their
parents with the cows. Dad milks
50 cows, mom feeds the calves
and cows and runs the silo load
er.
Lindsay likes to help feed the
calves. Her favorite calves (red
and white Holsteins) are named
Curly Sue and Cutie.
Aimee, the comedian of the
family, likes to pretend she is an
actress and do silly jokes. She
also likes to ride the farm
4-wheeler.
Although Katy is only 10, she
puts the milkers on the cows and
even milks the cows by hand a bit
to get some milk for the seven
kittens that live on the farm.
Katy also likes to play basket
ball and takes piano lessons.
The children also have one
duck, three bunnies, and lots of
chickens. They like to name their
animals unusual names. For ex
ample, S’mores and Tapioca are
names for the bunnies, and Rem
mie the dog was named after a
gun.
At two years of age, Kyle loves
playing with trucks.
It won’t be long before school
starts. When that happens, there
is less time for play on the farm.
Educational Garden 1
Hands-on House Children’s Museum
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
Last year, Hands-on House
Children’s Museum moved into a
new facility that more than dou
bled the space available for chil
dren to explore and learn. Now,
through the efforts of the Junior
League of Lancaster, the museum
has grown again, with the addi
tion of an outdoor educational
garden located at Hands-on
House.
The educational garden is
made up of several theme garden
areas for children to explore. The
dinosaur garden includes a skele
ton with metal ribs to climb
through and a stone head that
doubles as a sand box. A science
and discovery area comprised of
a plant cave, human sundial and
weather station further the edu
cational mission of the museum.
Jay and Pam Funk with Katy, 10; Lindsay, 8; Aimee, 4;
and Kyle, 2, prefer this type of transportation on the farm.
The girls play with one of the seven puppies born to
Remmie the dog.
Mr. McGregor’s garden has a
Peter Rabbit twist to it and fea
tures raised beds where children
can observe the different stages of
plant growth. Wildflowers and
perennials add color to the area,
and many of the plants were se
lected to enhance the themes. For
example, many large-size peren
nials surround the dinosaur gar
den. Stone animals and colorful
climbing platforms give kids an
opportunity to get physical.
“The new garden provides the
museum many fantastic opportu
nities to extend the museum’s
mission of hands-on learning
through playing to the outside
and the natural environment,”
said Lynne Morrison, executive
director of Hands-on House.
The garden is open during
public museum hours and en-
trance is included in the price of
admission to Hands-on House.
Public museum hours are Mon
day through Thursday, 10 a.m.-5
p.m.; Friday 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat
urday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sun
day noon-5 p.m. Admission is $5
per person for adults and chil
dren.
Hands-on House, Children’s
Museum of Lancaster is a not
for-profit museum designed for
2-10-year-olds. Based on the phi
losophy that children learn best
while playing and having fun, the
museum features interactive exhi
bits which are designed for adults
and children to explore together.
Hands-on House is open to the
public year round. For more in
formation, contact Hands-On
House at (717) 569-KIDS or visit
the museum’s Website,
www.handsonhouse.org.