Tales of the Fun Farm Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pumpkin

Did you know that pumpkins are fruit?! This is because they develop from the flowering part of the vine AND they have seeds! Some people, though, insist on calling pumpkins a vegetable because they are not at all sweet!

My grandson always looks for just the right pumpkin for making a jack-'o-lantern. Sometimes he likes to paint the face (if you use edible paint, you will also be able to eat it!), and sometimes he prefers to carve it. He looks for a pumpkin that still has a stem, sits well on a level surface, and doesn't have any soft spots. Even though he likes pumpkin pie, he still believes the pumpkin for pie comes out of a can! If all you plan to do with your pumpkin is carve it, then at the least, please be sure to use it to feed local wildlife or create a compost pile. Yes, my grandson is quite the jack-'o-lantern connoisseur!

Answer: Tractor

Of course, when a person visits a farm, they expect to see a tractor! There are many types of rides offered at fun farms that show the proprietor's creativity. Maybe he just uses a hay wagon ride - or individual cut-out barrels for a kiddie ride, home made train cars, or even cars that are painted to look like cows!

Hayrides are a tradition in some places of the world and were originally used to celebrate the harvest. Back in the day, workers would fill the wagon with hay and then ride back to unload it in the barn. The ride back to the barn gave them some time when they could rest a bit. Horses were used to pull the wagons at first, and later tractors or trucks were used.

Answer: Petting zoo

Isn't it amazing how kids will see an ordinary kitten, bunny, or chicken at a fun farm petting zoo and think they are great! The first petting zoo, also called a children's zoo, was established in London in 1938. Its purpose was to introduce city children to common farm animals that they might not be able to see in person otherwise. Feeding the animals is an especially fun activity; many petting zoos offer free food or food at a nominal cost to give children that special experience.

It is important to pay attention to the signs that are posted around a petting zoo. While it may be expected that only the most docile of animals are placed there, that may not always the case. Some may be just for looking and not for touching - or they may just run out of patience with all the little hands wanting to touch them!

Answer: Jumping pillows

According to "The Original Jumping Pillow Site", jumping pillows were first invented in Denmark by Blåbjerg Trampolin. While they seem like trampolines, they are different because they are much lower to the ground. If a child has a mishap and falls, he is less likely to be hurt.

Many are also surrounded by sand, which also softens any fall. Beware, though! Rain showers will make jumping pillows very slippery and it's better to stay off of them if they are wet!

Answer: Zip line

Zip lines are typically called aerial runways in the United Kingdom. People have been using similar lines for centuries to move items in mountainous areas. The main difference, however, is that a zip line always uses gravity to pull a person from one end of an area to another.

While many adults may choose to zip line over a canopy of trees in the rain forest, wee lines for children, also called flying foxes in Australia, are much lower to the ground and do not have a steep incline that might make the experience scary for them.

Answer: Cider

Because apples are harvested in the fall, home made apple cider is a popular drink at the fun farm. Cider is usually made using a blend of many varieties of apples - just to give it balance - and all parts of the apple are used in the initial step. Just put your applies in a large pot, along with your preferred spices, such as cinnamon, allspice, and maybe a bit of sugar, add water, and boil for an hour or so.

Then continue to simmer for a couple more hours until the apples are soft. Mash the contents of the pot altogether, and then strain to remove the solid pieces.

This is an important step because you want to press all of the solid pieces against the strainer so as not to waste any of the yummy juices. It is a form of all-natural apple juice, which kids just normally love already! In the U.S. the home made cider found at fun farms must come with a warning that it is unpasteurized, unlike the cider that is found at the grocery store. For this reason, many makers go ahead and heat the juice (around 158F (70C) for about a minute) before selling it so it is safe for all to drink.

Answer: The sign says it is haunted.

Haunted houses during Halloween are typical attractions today, mostly meant for the enjoyment of teenagers and young adults. Believe it or not, the use of haunted houses began during the Great Depression because the pranks being carried out by young people were becoming too malicious. The haunted houses were set up in basements, complete with scary sounds, spaces to crawl through, and the like, to offer an alternative activity.

Should young children experience a haunted house? Of course, it is up to their guardians to decide. Check ahead and see what exactly the haunted house is like at the fun farm you plan to visit - not all of them even have one - and then decide if your child is old enough to enjoy it.

Answer: Chucking

Believe me, if you have been just throwing, tossing, or sending your pumpkins, you have not been having enough fun! The Science Channel calls this activity "Punkin Chuckin", and has held contests in the past, even holding what is called the World Championship.

Dedicated chuckers say that if a fun farm advertises pumpkin slingshots, that it does not count as chucking - they must use terms like cannon or trebuchet. Can you believe that the record for World Championship chucking is 4,694.68 feet?! It is important, however, to be careful while participating. One of the machines malfunctioned at an event in 2016 and someone was hurt.

At the fun farm, of course, the activity is more geared toward fun and safety for younger children. Many farms might charge an extra fee for use of their equipment.

Answer: Sluice

Miners have been using sluice boxes for years to find bits and pieces of gold. Most sluices, originally made of wood, had some sort of grooves or impressions called riffles in the bottom of the channel which help to trap stones and other minerals.

At the fun farm, mining for gems usually requires an extra fee. The "gems" might be agate rocks, sea shells, or even fossils like shark teeth! These items are hidden in sand and become apparent when a scoop of sand is placed in the sluice box. Flowing water and the force of gravity send the sand down the sluice box, where the riffles will help to separate it from larger pieces of "gems".

Answer: Corn maze

We always must save the best for last, and in my grandson's opinion, that is the corn maze! While some places just expect the adults to pay attention and eventually help the kids find their way out, others publish maps with clues. We even visited one fun farm that had discreetly placed ears of corn at intersections to point visitors in the right direction. Yes, it took us a while to catch on to that, but we made sure that our grandson never did! He was too excited to look at the ground!

Corn mazes can feature intricate designs, however, at most fun farms the proprietors have just made paths through the rows that go in different directions and even lead to erroneous trails. Did you know that corn mazes in the UK are typically called maize mazes?