Family Fun: Grimm Farmhouse Summer Open Houses

Grimm Farm Historic Site Farmhouse and historic actors.

In 2023, Grimm Farmhouse is again only opened on the 2nd Saturdays of each summer month. These are the only dates this year that you and your family can visit the restored 1870s house and fields of the Grimm Farm.  Wendelin and Julianna Grimm were German immigrants whose work transformed the Upper Midwest into America’s dairy belt. On your visit, you can experience the work and play of a late 1800s Minnesota farm.

Kids trying out old-fashioned games at Historic Grimm Farmhouse in Victoria, Minnesota
Kids trying out old-fashioned games at Historic Grimm Farmhouse

Meet Wendelin and Julianna Grimm

The Grimms immigrated to Minnesota in 1859.  (This was the year after Minnesota became a state and two years after the life of Laura Ingalls Wilder (just to give you a timeline). They brought along Alfalfa seeds from Germany and, over time, developed the first winter-hardy alfalfa in North America. Today, Grimm Alfalfa is the source of all modern varieties of alfalfa grown in the U.S. Read a longer biography here.

Volunteers will take you through the farmhouse and introduce children’s pastimes from the period. Hoops, stilts and marbles may still be able to fascinate in this age of touchscreens and other gadgets.

Sprout Your Own Alfalfa!

This would be a great outing to mix a project and a recipe with.  I think I would like to hit up the co-op on the ride home to buy our own alfalfa for sandwiches and alfalfa seeds for sprouting.  The Mill City Farmers Market has directions for sprouting alfalfa with kids.  The really cool thing about this project is that it takes less than a week to see results. Before your kids can forget about the outing, you will have made your own alfalfa.


Hours: Second Saturdays, 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Phone: 763.694.7650
Address: 7025 Victoria Drive (Lowry Nature Center), Victoria, MN 55386

As Long As You’re Visiting Grimm Farmhouse:

Extend your visit with a day of family fun. Grimm Farmhouse is located inside Carver Park Reserve, where families can hike or bike and possibly see wildlife, including trumpeter swans and wood ducks, purchase an archery pass for $6 per adult (kids free with paid adult), and explore the nature exploration area just outside Lowry Nature Center. Inside Lowry, check out seasonal displays, visit live animals and watch birds through the viewing windows.  Then head over to the Lake Minnetonka Regional Swim Pond in nearby Minnetrista.

Collage of children playing on the outdoor nature playground at Lowry Nature Center in Victoria, Minnesota
Lowry’s Nature Playground

Go On An Historic House Tour

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