"Bunny Garden" (TM) -- Rabbit Playdate

You are invited to come stroll through our Bunny Garden at the Peacebunny Cottage.Consider giving tickets in your Easter Basket or For Mothers Day and come out when its warmer and the flowers are blooming... Come experience the joy of rabbits and learning hosted by the STEM Bunnies nonprofit educational organization.  The rabbits all come from Peacebunny Island rabbitry in Minnesota USA and this is one of our partner farms. The intent of this activity is to advance the agricultural sciences through intracting with our staff and our rabbits...and the natural byproduct is a fun, bunny playdate with AMAZING photos! We provide "hands-on, minds on" learning while playing with bunnies. Our guests learn all sorts of fun rabbit facts while visiting with a  variety of bunny breeds and ages. Because our nonprofit works to preserves endangered heritage breeds, you'll see an amazing variety of colors and varieties plus some of our rescues like Lionardo (a Lionhead rabbit of course), Morris (Netherland Dwarf), Tator Tot (Dwarf Hotot) and Oreo (Mini Rex) who has  velvet crushed fur. You'll also get to see our mega fluffy Angora rabbits and a gentle giant like Fudge.   We also plan to bring out some American breed baby bunnies for you to see if the weather cooperates.  What will we do at the Bunny Garden?   Guests must arrive at the start of the sesson to attend a brief safety orientation and to wash hands.  The Bunny Garden is designed as a  fun, interctive learning experience walking through the Peacebunny Cottage pasture and then sitting in an area inviting the bunnies to come join you. You will be engaged with our volunteers and our bunnies while you learn about different breeds and about what makes a rabbit special.  You'll have some free time to explore, spending some time touching and playing with rabbits, getting into pens with blankets on your laps and allowing the bunnies to interact with you.  We have some stations that are self-led and our experts are there to answer questions. Stay and play some of our bunny-related  games.   With your ticket,  you are invited to stay a whole hour in the Bunny Garden area.   No, We won't guarantee that rabbits will sit on your lap. We have created this sweet opportunity for bunnies and our guests to come share this special time together, but not at the expense of the rabbits.  We will be ensuring they get plenty of time to rest, the opportunity to hop away and get any treats or water they need. Thank you for recognizing that our bunnies are not here to be props for photos, but you will no doubt get some AMAZINGLY cute photos without staging and setting them on your child's lap.Keeping the Bunnies SafeWe raise endangered breeds with less than 2000 left in the world and our Angora breeds.   In order to help keep them and all the rabbits safe, we are following proven biosecurity policies and you may only visit certain areas of the property and photos are allowed only in the pasture area where the event is held.  This is a working farm so please only come during your ticketed event. OUR MOTIVATIONSTEM Bunnies was started because our founder Caleb Smith, who was ten years old at the time, found 362 rabbits available for sale online in the weeks after Easter just here in the Minneapolis-St Paul metro area alone.  Most of those people posting said they brought home a rabbit with good intentions, but then decided for a variety of reasons that they were simply done with their rabbit.  So our organization hosts these events to help educate the public about rabbits to have more fair expectations, to share our sweet bunnies with you, and to hopefully prevent impulse rabbit purchases.  And this is one of our annual fund-raiser to help provide the care for the rabbits year-round while people aren't thinking about rabbits....    We aim to allow you the fun without a ten year commitment and at the same time allow our bunnies the fun of interacting with you.  We are NOT a petting zoo.   We are an educational nonprofit that helps the public learn about science while playing with our bunnies.Although some other animals are at the farm, they are not part of the program.  Thank you for not touching or feeding any animals.  Yes, we are Recruiting Volunteers for future events.  Contact us for more information.The bullk of our volunteers at our events are adults and young people 3 grade an older with their parents.  We are proud that this is a kid-led organization with lots of supporting adults. Regardless of age, all volunteers must attend Bunny Boot Camp Intro training and adults are screened.  We are always looking for fun people who love to learn and share what they are learning.  Yes, we help prepare families to foster or own a bunny.We do educational activities year round, so ask about our Bunny Boot Camp class --which is the first step for volunteering or fostering. This class is the first step in becoming eligible to foster one of our rabbits in your home or in your classroom for up to 8 weeks.  We provide the training, cage, food, supplies and discovery worksheets to make  your rabbit experience successful and rewarding.  Then if you fall in love, we can talk about how to create a forever home for one or our rabbits or we can help connect you to a reputable breeder and introduce you to some super sweet rescue bunnies that we will keep in our program until they are adopted.  Bottom line: Please don't buy a rabbit this spring unless you have fostered first.  Get trained, spend time with rabbits and then make an informed decision later.   If you complete the Bunny Boot Camp prior to Easter, you could potentially "check out" one of our rabbits this spring as they are available and purchase if you fall in love.  If you have purchased a rabbit from someplace else you are encouraged to attend our class too. FAQs   Who can come? "Kids" of all ages are welcome! This event is something to enjoy with your family, not split off and do separately.   All youth under 16 need to stay with a responsible adult and must have a signed permission slip if they are coming without a parent.  If you are young at heart this event is for you, but that doesn't mean everyone should touch.  To be fair to you, this is not a great fit for children under three. All small children need their parent/guardians to have their hands free and to be fully attentive to keep their kids safe.  Guests must be able to touch gently without harming the rabbits. Its just super fun to do this as a family!!  Thanks for helping us keep the bunnies and all the kids safe by following our rules.   Please contact us to speak with us about special accommodations.  We will do our best to help make this event welcoming to all.  Thanks  also for making this event fun and relaxing for everyone.  What can/can't I bring to the event?Do not bring any pets, bikes, skateboards, food.Please don't wear orange ;-)  Otherwise we'll think you're staff and put you to work -- HA!To comply with public health best practices, plan to leave your food in the car.  If you have natural carrots (not baby carrots) or other treats you'd like to donate to the bunnies, please leave them at the check in area; we will be pleased to share these with the bunnies during meal times in the right amounts.  (If everyone gave the bunnies a carrot or fed them, their tummies would get upset.  Rabbits also can't see very well in front of their noses, so little fingers can easily be mistaken for a treat).  Help us keep everyone and our bunnies safe!May I take photos or video?  Yes of course -- There will be plenty of awesome photo options.  Some rabbit stations are for observing, which help us learn how bunnies act.  Some  stations are for petting-- the bunny is on a table and you are invited to touch their fur, say hello, take a photo.  Some stations are for playing!  That's where the real candid fun photos take place.   And there are some bunny related games that are fun for photos too.  Thank you for sharing your pictures on social media along with our STEMbunnies name so that others can find us too.   To protect all guests, take only pictures of rabbits and only of your group.   PRESS:  Members of the press, please contact us in advance so that we may meet you and give you our press packet.  No commercial photography without expresed written consent. Professional Portait PhotograhyWe currently do not have a professional photographer/studio on site.  Email us if you're looking for a studio where our bunnies are visiting.   If you are booking  a photo session, ask if the STEM Bunnies are coming with their handlers.  Remember: live bunnies should not be used just as props.  Make sure your portrait photographer has an animal exhibit permit or exemption before booking to ensure they are compliant with Animal Welfare Laws. Baby Bunnies?If it is warm enough outside, we might be able to bring some baby bunnies for you to see, but not touch. Our mission includes allowing the breeding of the endangered heritage breeds and Angoras that have a forever home secured.   Seeing babies is a bonus and is not guaranteed. As members of the Livestock Conservancy, our program helps to preserve endangered heritage breeds, so we intentionally do not spay or neuter these rabbits.  We have a forever plan for any babies that are born in our program -- Several of the breeds in our program have less than 2000 left in the world and are set for extinction without intentional plans to re-populate. The bunnies in our program are not the rabbits in your backyard.  We also have several rescue rabbits which allow you to see a wide variety of non-endangered breeds too.  How may I contact the organizer with any [email protected]   952-888-9544We simply rent event space and they are not able to answer your questions except for directions. Is my registration/ticket transferrable?  Sure!  We only have limited number of tickets for each session.  Your ticket may be used by someone else but they must sign the waiver at the check in area.  Sorry tickets are NOT REFUNDABLE, nor may they be purchased on site. What about bad weather?  Our intention is to have the event "rain or shine" but we reserve the right to shift the venue within the Twin Cities metro area.   DRESS FOR BEING OUTSIDE FOR ONE HOUR.  There is limited shade/coverings so be prepared with sunscreen.  We will do our best to email you in advance, but if there is any doubt, check this site or Facebook where we post weather cancellations. If we cancel for safety reasons like a thunderstorm, we will offer a make-up option within the month.  We will of course honor the ticket that you may transfer to someone else, but we are unable to make refunds. Do I need to bring my printed e-ticket to the event?No. But you will need a ticket either printed or on your phone as proof of your registration and signing the waiver to get checked in.  Sorry but we are unable to  accept walk-ins.  Do you have other educational opportunities?  Yes -- We host Bunny Boot Camp class which is the gateway prerequisite to volunteer and fostering opportunities; Little Vet class to explore animal science / medical careers; summer STEM camp; and new this year STEM ambassadors for middle school+******************************************************************************************************************                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    See you at the Bunny Garden!  We will have lots of fun educational products and cute merchandise available for sale if you're looking for great basket stuffers to pick out while you're there.