Heritage Farmstead Museum

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Heritage Farmstead Museum in Plano for their homeschool day, and we had such a good time!! The theme was On the Banks of Pitman Creek (based on “On the Banks of Plum Creek,” one of the Little House books), and there were several activities that were taken from the books. Even though it’s in the middle of Plano, it is a large area with plenty of room for pioneer exhibits and activities.

It was misting pretty much the entire time we were there, but the kids still had a great time. They got to sit in the school house and make a craft from Laura Ingalls’ time period (that I thought was mentioned somewhere in the books, but I can’t find anyone to agree with me, so probably not), eat biscuits cooked in a dutch oven, see how wool was turned into material, tour various home and farm scenes, and shake up butter, among other things. 

This was the first time we had ever been to this museum, and I definitely felt like it was a worthwhile experience. The staff were extremely kind and friendly and seemed to welcome kids being there. Sometimes places like this can have somewhat of a true museum feel – be quiet, don’t touch everything – but this didn’t seem that way at all. Everyone was happy to answer questions and let the kids engage with the exhibits. 

While there are some indoor exhibits, such as the school house and the main house, the majority of our time was spent outside, so prepare accordingly if you go. I was wishing I had brought an umbrella! Since it is outside the kids are able to run around a little bit and have more freedom than if it was all indoors. We were there about 2 ½ hours and pretty well saw everything.

All in all, I would recommend visiting. Unfortunately, they don’t usually have all the interactive activities set up (they were a special thing for the homeschool day), but I think it would still be enjoyable. It’s set up to where you can always feed the chickens and go on a hayride, as well as look through the buildings and outdoor exhibits.

We found it so interesting to actually be able to see some of the things Laura talks about in her stories. After seeing the amount of time and effort it takes to turn wool into thread and material I am incredibly thankful for the ability to just order a shirt from Amazon and have it show up ready to wear the next day!