Illinois Agritainment at Its Finest
The variety of activities available at Rader Family Farms continues to be part of what keeps families coming back year after year. It's been exciting work and we hope farm visitors will enjoy the enhancements we've added again this year. Your paid admission grants you access to most activities. There is an additional fee for the 10 acre corn maze (open daily), apple blasters, face painting, and pony rides (available most weekends).
- Apple Blasters :: $$ More than 600 psi of pressure will shoot these apples at targets up to 200 meters away. Challenge your friends and family to a shooting competition. Visit the corn maze booth to try them during the weekends. There is an additional cost to use the Apple Blasters.
- Duck Races :: Duck racing at its finest. Whether you're a novice or veteran, the fast you can pump water, the quicker ducks will float down the track.
- Rat Rollers :: Roll yourself along a track in an over sized tube.
- U Pick Pumpkins :: Journey out into more than six acres of U-Pick pumpkins to find the perfect one for you!
- Tire Tower :: Reaching up into the stratosphere, the Tire Tower is great for testing your outdoor climbing skills.
- Jumping Pillow ::
- School House :: The Schoolhouse is the first stop on our field trips during the week. On weekends guests can visit it and learn about agriculture in Illinois.
- Crop Circle :: When you stroll thru this pie shaped display you will be able to see up close eight different Illinois crops and learn some interesting facts about each crop. This display is adorned by the Illinois Flag.
- Little Village :: Kids six and underwill enjoy playing in and around the miniature town. Shop for Illinois grown products in the market and drop your mail off at the Post Office. Then hurry home to fix your meal back at the playhouses. Just for the Little People!
- Tram Rides (on weekends) :: Enjoy the ride out to get your pumpkin or just ride around for fun on the back of a tram pulled by a John Deere tractor driven by one of our staff. You will learn about this working farm and about the family who work it.
- Kiddie Corn Maze :: Our 1 acre corn maze is just perfect for children and the faint of heart who do not want to wander for too long thru the paths. Located on the north end of the farm near the tram station, the Kiddie Corn Maze should take about 10-15 minutes to complete (see below..)
- Double Barrel Chute :: The tallest mountain in McLean County! Grab a friend and climb the steep mountain to the top of the big tube slide and the race each other down the mountain tube slibe. Then do it another five times to give yourself a good workout.
- Oversized Sandbox :: Dig and dig the biggest hole in the big sandbox with the cool diggers. Build some sandcastles while you're at it and generally have a good time.
- Pedal Powered Trikes :: Test your driving skills and calf muscles at the same time as you pedal around the track on our oversized trikes.
- Cattle Chute & Haystack :: Run up the cattle shoot and jump into the pit below. That’s good old fashioned fun and easy for the smallest of young farmers!
- Rodeo Round Up :: Roping's not as easy as they make it look on TV. Climb up in the in the saddle and try your hand at roping the steer.
- Wild Horses :: Swing high while riding the new horse swings (Take note of the posted weight limits)
- Jumping Pillow :: Our bright colored jumping pillow will be enjoyed by kids and adults of all ages. Come try it out.
- Straw Castle :: Oversized straw bales create an exciting castle tower that is lots of fun to climb, chase friends and explore.
- Corny Bins :: Nothing says central Illinois like a few large bins of corn for kids to root around in for an hour or so. Come have some fun and learn some fun corn facts.
- The Barnyard :: Watch the bunnies play in their Bunny Village. In the barn you can meet our baby miniature pot belly pigs. In the poultry corn crib with the orange roof you can find turkeys as well as some noisy guineas and homing pigeons. The flock of chickens of all colors are in their pen laying eggs every night. Mr. Rooster is in there too. You can also meet our donkeys; Mother Milley and babies Maizey & Murphy. We have two dorset sheep, and a baby dairy calf. The goats love climbing their bridge to get to the round feeding pen where you can feed them pellets for only a quarter. The Barnyard is full and running over with fun, playful animals for you to enjoy.
- Tractor Test Drive :: Climb the steps up into the big red tractor and pretend you're the farmer planting the crops.
- Barrel Train :: Let the children ride around the farm in the darling animal babies barrel ride while you enjoy a coffee or cider.
- Pumpkin Checkers :: Challenge someone to a big checker game with pumpkins.
- Animated Talking Chicken Show :: Grab a coffee and a snack and be entertained and informed by our talking corn show.
- Corn Ball Volley Ball :: Find your friends or make new ones as you attempt to play corn ball volley ball near the Rat Rollers.
- Corn Boxes :: Have fun driving the miniature farm equipment in the corn box while you wait to get your Barnyard Grill food order.
- Picture Perfect Spot :: Arrange your group around our 1951 Chevy pick-up truck for a great photo of the kids or the entire family. Capture those memories of your trip to the farm, just on the edge of Normal.
- Scarecrow Scramble :: Get your game sheet at admissions or the Popcorn Shack and head out to find all the scarecrows by number. Fill in each mystery word to complete the scarecrow poem. This game will take you all around the farm!