Baby Animal Celebration | This is the Place Heritage Park

We always enjoy visiting This is the Place Heritage Park. We visited This is the Place Heritage Park during the Winter Season last year. We have also attended the Candlelight Christmas event. This year we were able to visit during the weekend of the Baby Animal Celebration. There were a lot of fun activities going on, but most of them are always happening at this amazing state park. So get ready for Summer Season at This is the Place Heritage Park.

The fun part of the Baby Animal Celebration is obviously going to see the baby animals. The park says that this time of year usually lasts through the end of May. We saw baby goats, pigs, bunnies, ducks, and even a puppy. Our boys favorite part was the chance to pet and hold little chicks. We had to hold one of every color. There were also pony rides going on in the animal section of the park (we didn’t wait in line for one, but you definitely should).

This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
We were actually a little nervous about hurting the chicks, but they are pretty resilient. As a boy, Dad remembers receiving chicks in the mail!
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
Those are ducklings, and no, that one is NOT ugly, it’s just yellow.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
Baby goats are so adorable. I think it’s the big floppy ears.
Our boys were pretty excited to very gently hold a baby chick. The chicks? Not so excited…

We spent a lot of the day visiting the village. We love wandering through the different buildings and listening to the artisans teaching us about pioneer life. When we visited during the Winter Season, there were not nearly as many buildings and activities going on as when we went during the Summer Season. Most of the buildings were open with fun activities for the children. We loved going to school for a short lesson. Another favorite was learning how to do pioneer chores. Our boys even got to create patterns in the leather, but they didn’t want to live in the shop as apprentices and learn the trade.

This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
Time for school! Our lesson was on science. They had a different lesson every half hour, which lasted about 10 minutes.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
Our master leatherworkers hardly even hit Dad’s fingers.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
The boys were a little leery about getting a shave with a straight razor, but they enjoyed looking at the leeches.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
Our middle child wants us to clarify that he volunteered to be the class dunce.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
The blacksmith shop is always one of our favorite spots. The blacksmith had been working on a knife for around 5 hours. It looked… unfinished.

There is a new section at This is the Place Heritage Park since we last visited. There is a model of the ship Brooklyn. Kids (and adults) can climb on the ship and enjoy the beautiful view. They can also climb in the ship and check out the sleeping conditions. There is even a small stream where you can pan for gold. Make sure to hold on to the gold you find because you can take it back to the bank and have it weighed!

This new area is next to a large house called the Treasure House. It has a little bit of information about mining and you can climb the spiral staircase to overlook the Salt Lake Valley.  You can also purchase a few different rock activities such as breaking a geode open, or an activity to search for gems. The final activity here is a mini train ride. There is a small pond that the train circles that was filled with geese. We even saw a goose nesting, and a nest with an egg! We had a blast at this new part of the park.

This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
This is the new section of the park. The ship Brooklyn carried Mormon Pioneers from New York to San Francisco. There is a fun replica to play on.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
The boys didn’t think it would be much fun to be below deck of the Brooklyn.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
Panning for gold was pretty easy. One of the boys earned $1.26 and the other earned 78 cents.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
Make sure to take your gold back to the bank. After the banker weighs the gold, he give the children a little certificate stating how much money they would have earned.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
The mini train ride is part of your admission to Heritage Park.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
This is the goose egg we spotted on our mini train ride! We were very excited.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
The train ride isn’t very long, but there is a fun tunnel.

Across the way from the ship and treasure house is a new Native American Village that is currently under construction. We can’t wait to visit and see the fun activities that they include in this area.

This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
This section of the park is scheduled to be done in Summer 2016.

We love that you can hop on the train that circles the park at anytime and ride it back to a different part of the park. So make sure to ride the train when those little legs get tired. The train has stops by the Treasure House, near the entrance, and at the top of Heritage Village by the hotel.

We tried something new this trip. We were given a coupon for a dozen mini-donuts at Brigham’s shop with our tickets, and they definitely did not disappoint. I think we might have to stop and get a few dozen every time we visit now (I do have a donut problem, though).

This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
The donuts were THAT good!

This is the Place Heritage Park is a fun, hands-on adventure that helps families get a small glimpse into the life of a pioneer. We love visiting so we can teach our boys about their heritage. And any time of year is a great time to visit! The Baby Animal Celebration only happens one day, but you can enjoy baby animals all spring long. For more information about Baby Animal Celebration, visit This is the Place.

This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
Our children enjoyed the Pioneer chores much more than their modern day chores.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
Dad actually used one of these when he was a kid to help plant his garden.
This is the Place Heritage Park Summer Season
Our seven year-old liked doing laundry the best.

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