Do you want to learn a new skill, or try your hand at a craft from yesteryear? Did you tour Living History Farms and think, "I wish I could do that"? Are you looking for an "out-of-the-ordinary" outing for you and a few friends? Then try one of the many adult and family education classes offered by Living History Farms.
Living History Farms offers classes where participants can try their hand at anything from cooking on a wood burning stove, to learning to drive a team of draft horses. Space is limited so that each participant can receive as much individual attention as possible. Held at one of the many historic sites at Living History Farms, these classes are taught by experienced LHF staff.
Classes are presented through a partnership with Des Moines Schools’ Community Education.
| Date | Time | Class | Location |
| Tuesdays: April 2, 9, 16, 23 (4 week class) |
2:30-4:30 pm | Memories of Me: Preserving Personal History Through Journaling | Visitor Center |
| Tuesdays: April 2 & April 9 (2 week class) |
6:00-8:00 pm | Visitor Center | |
| Saturday, April 6 |
9:00-11:00 am | NEW! Making Breakfast on a Woodstove | 1900 Farm |
| Saturday, April 6 |
1:00-4:00 pm | NEW! Pies and Pastries in a Woodstove | 1900 Farm |
| Saturday, April 13 |
9:30am-12:30pm | Norwegian Breads and Specialties | Tangen Home |
| Saturday, April 20 |
9:00am-noon | Basics of Draft Horse Driving | 1900 Farm |
| Saturday, April 20 |
2:00-5:00pm | Intermediate Draft Horse Driving | 1900 Farm |
| Saturday, April 27 |
9:30am-2:30pm | Basics of Pioneer Hearth Cooking | Pioneer Farm |
Registrations begin on February 20.
Click here to register >
Date: Tuesdays: April 2, 9, 16, and 23 (4 week class)
Time: 2:30 - 4:30 pm
Location: Living History Farms’ Visitor Center
Instructors: LHF Staff
Cost: $54.00 / person
# of participants: Minimum: 10, Maximum: 15
Restrictions: Ages 13 and up.
Description: What will our children remember about us when we are gone? Explore historic diaries in search of what they can and can’t tell us about our family and day-to-day life in the past; then make a creative journey through your own memories! Students will discover how to decipher and care for family heirlooms and how to preserve their own diaries for the future. After sifting the past, students will capture their own memories in a personal memory journal—a treasure for themselves or their children and grandchildren. Journaling exercises, photo collage and other interactive activities will be used to get those creative juices flowing. Students will go home with a new memory journal full of writing and pictures, plus idea-generating resource lists. Materials provided.
Date: Tuesday, April 2 & Tuesday, April 9 (2 week class)
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Visitor Center
Instructors: LHF Staff
Cost: $49.00
# of participants: Minimum: 6, Maximum: 12
Restrictions: Ages 16 and up.
Description: Learn the techniques used by many Native American tribes of the past to make belts. This class will teach the basics of finger weaving and provide a list of resources for those who want to learn fancier styles once you have mastered the basics. The class will be held in two sessions to provide you with a chance to start the belt and practice at home, and then return to the second session to learn how to finish the belt. All costs of materials included in cost of class, and participants will walk away with a belt that is unique to you.
Date: Saturday, April 6
Time: 9:00 am - 11:00am
Location: 1900 Farm (check in at the LHF Conference Center at 12234 Douglas Ave)
Instructors: LHF staff
Cost: $64.00
# of participants: Minimum: 3, Maximum: 5
Restrictions: Ages 18 and up.
Description: Wake up in the historic kitchens at Living History Farms’ 1900 Farm with 19th century breakfast treats. Explore the Victorian fascination with doughnuts and fried breads! Roast some green coffee beans for a morning cup of coffee. Participants will fry several doughnut recipes on top of the woodstove, and then scramble eggs, and make French toast---all while discovering how our 19th century ancestors celebrated their morning meal. Of course, sit down and enjoy the fruits of your labors at the end of class. Bring an apron and containers to take home any leftovers!
Date: Saturday, April 6
Time: 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Location: Living History Farms' 1900 Farm (check in at the LHF Conference Center at 12234 Douglas Ave)
Instructors: LHF staff
Cost: $64.00
# of participants: Minimum: 3, Maximum: 5
Restrictions: Ages 18 and up.
Description: Nothing smells better than fresh baked pies and pastries coming from the oven! Using recipes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, make pies and pastries by hand, and bake them in the wood-fired oven at the 1900-era farmhouse at Living History Farms. As you work, learn how to adapt a historic recipe for use in today’s kitchens. At the end of class, sit down to enjoy the creations you made. Bring an apron and an appetite! And don’t forget to bring containers to take home your creations! Cost of class includes all costs for materials and supplies.
Date: Saturday, April 13
Time: 9:30am - 12:30 pm
Location: Living History Farms' Tangen Home (check in at the LHF Visitor Center)
Instructors: LHF staff
Cost: $74.00
# of participants: Minimum: 3, Maximum: 5
Restrictions: Ages 18 and up.
Description: Discover how to make several Norwegian baked goods as they would have been prepared in the nineteenth century. Try your hand at baking flätbrød (flat bread), kringle (an almond pastry not to be confused with kringla, a pretzel-shaped pastry), kaffekranz (a special coffee-cake type pastry), and rugbrød (traditional rye bread). Recipes will be baked using a wood burning stove, and, in the process, participants will learn the history of these foods. Of course, participants will finish the class by enjoying what they create! Pre-registration a MUST in order to have enough food! Class size is limited to FIVE students in order to allow everyone to fully participate in the class. No registration taken the day of the class. Cost of materials and copy of recipes included in cost of class.
Date: Saturday, April 20
Time: 9:00am - Noon
Location: 1900 Farm (check in at the LHF Conference Center at 12234 Douglas Ave)
Instructors: LHF staff
Cost: $89.00
# of participants: Minimum: 4, Maximum: 6
Restrictions: Ages 18 and up.
Description: Small class size guarantees lots of 1-1 instruction, and driving time! Learn the basic commands for driving a team of draft horses. Go through the process of harnessing and grooming a horse. Practice the basic commands by doing some ground driving, and then by driving a wagon. Bring gloves and dress for the weather and for being on a farm! Class will be held rain or shine. Participants will also receive handouts about the basic care of horses and basic driving techniques.
Date: Saturday, April 20
Time: 2:00 - 5:00 pm
Location: 1900 Farm (check in at the LHF Conference Center at 12234 Douglas Ave)
Instructors: LHF staff
Cost: $89.00
# of participants: Minimum: 4, Maximum: 6
Restrictions: Ages 18 and up.
Description: Take the next step in your draft horse experience! This class is ideal for the person who already has some horse experience. Participants will go beyond the basics and learn how to drive various horse-drawn farm implements. Small class size guarantees lots of 1-1 instruction! Bring gloves, and be sure dress for the weather and for being on a farm. Class will be held rain or shine.
Date: Saturday, April 27
Time: 9:30am - 2:30 pm
Location: 1850 Pioneer Farm (check in at the LHF Conference Center at 12234 Douglas Ave)
Instructors: LHF staff
Cost: $84.00
# of participants: Minimum: 4, Maximum: 6
Restrictions: Ages 18 and up.
Description: Ever wonder how new settlers in Iowa cooked without a woodburning stove? Learn the basics of hearth cooking, while exploring how new settlers in Iowa produced, prepared, and preserved food. Participants will use 1850s era recipes to make their lunch. While your meal is cooking, tour the 1850 Pioneer Farm. After eating their meal and cleaning up, everyone will go home with copies of recipes, and information on how to care for their cast iron cooking utensils. Cost of materials included in cost of class. Dress for being on a farm, and for cooking! Part of the class will be outside while you tour the farm. Please; no one under 18, for safety reasons. Call Living History Farms (telephone # 515-278-5286) for directions on how to get to this class.
