Why you shouldn’t panic about Maymont Children’s Farm

How will the temporary closing of Maymont’s Children’s Farm affect your plans this summer? Not by much – but read about it anyway.

April 26, 2016; 11:47 AM • by Kelly Gerow

Photo by: travelationship

Maymont’s Children’s Farm has closed until sometime in the fall while it undergoes renovations. Don’t panic and stock up on baby goats to last you until the updates are complete, because this doesn’t change any visiting plans as much as you’d think.

The parking lot next to the farm will be closed starting April 25th for about six weeks (and then periodically during construction). The Nature & Visitor Center and Hampton Street entrance parking lots remain open.

The animals won’t be packed up in the mansion attic with the Christmas decorations. They’ll be housed in temporary shelters, and most will be in the pastures during the day, available for business-as-usual adoration (though a location for the feed vending machines is still being determined).

The Children’s Farm project, part of the Spirit of Generosity capital and endowment campaign for the Maymont Foundation, includes new classrooms, restrooms, barn renovations (the first major improvements in more than 30 years), and expanded parking.

Bruin Richardson, Executive Director of the Maymont Foundation, says, “The construction is being done now because the fairly significant earthwork is much better done in the spring and summer months. In addition, doing the construction during warmer months allows more of our animals to be available to our guests in the pastures.”

Landscaping for the project can be done in the fall, as well as replanting, when the plants are more likely to thrive. The plants in Marie’s Butterfly Garden, for instance, were relocated and will be replanted when construction is complete.

Birthday parties in the Children’s Farm are currently not being scheduled. Summer camps and educational programs are not affected this year, and will be able to expand with the new classroom space. The barn itself is not being expanded–just renovated–which means no plans for additional animals. The construction will not disrupt plans for school or day care trips, with the exception of parking.

Updates on the construction will be made through Maymont’s website, in addition to Twitter, Facebook, and signs at the Children’s Farm gate and around the property.