School Field Trip: Nelis' Dutch Village - Holland, Michigan

As we are in the middle of an early snow filled winter I find myself dreaming and blogging about spring!!  At the end of my daughters 1st grade school year I joined her and her classmates on a field trip to Nelis' Dutch Village in Holland, Michigan.  I had never heard of the place but since my visit I have had many people ask me about it.  So, here's my experience:

For those of you that are not familiar with Holland, Michigan - it is a city very well known for their Tulip Time Festival.
These tulips were so beautiful! 

The kids were all given these adorable personalized wooden name tag pins!

The tour started with a short movie about Dutch cultures.

A visit to the "wooden shoe factory"

Wooden shoes!

Although they do not make wooden shoes at this location - they do give a great demonstration of the process!  Note:  there are many wooden shoe options to purchase and you can have them personalized.

This machine was a little loud.  The sound was fine for most of the kiddos but one had a hard time with it.

The kids were given a demonstration of how cheese is made.
A variety of cheeses can be sampled and purchased.

This was part of a house that is set up to familiarize visitors with the way people lived many years ago.

This organ is beautiful!
There are a couple of them on site but this was working.
We were able to peak at the back of the organ to see the mechanics of how it plays.  

Yes - dancing!!!

The Dutch Folk Dance is worth seeing.
The kids had a great time guessing who would lose their wooden shoe first!

The best part... audience participation!

The swings were the most popular attraction for the kids!

Don't forget quarters to buy food for the animals.

A wooden shoe play structure!!!!

Notes:

• There are plenty of places to shop at the Dutch Village.  You will also find food, beverage and sweets to purchase.  
• Behind the village is an outlet mall.  Take some time to shop!  The day of our outing was unusually, and unexpectedly, cold!  Many of the kiddos were dressed in shorts and t-shirts.  Thankfully the outlet mall has a Gap store that was very gracious to give deep discounts on sweatshirts!  Not to mention the generous parent chaperons who paid for them!