In the past I took a number of old tractors and different machinery up there and have done things like shelling corn with an old tractor sheller and sawing firewood with a tractor flat belt driven buzz-saw. From the beginning we have sat up a low bench and attached an old hand crank sheller which is mounted to an old wooden box. We allow each youngster (and a few adults especially international travelers) to shell an ear of corn. They get to keep the cob if they like and the kids usually want to. Such activities require extremely close supervision...
I try to keep coming up with new or replacement ideas to keep things fresh. I have done such things as set up 2 sets of tripod pole frames and mounting two different block and tackle system from them and let the kids pull the rope to lift identical weights so they can see and feel how such systems work. Discussions often involved how these things were used both on the farm and in other applications such as sail boat rigging. One year I had a small tractor sitting there and used a jack-stand as a fulcrum for a big prybar to show how a heavy load could be lifted easily by a proper lever. Another demo involved rolling a heavy cast iron wheel easily up a ramp to show how an inclined plane can make a job easier. All of these things usually involved a good bit of discussion both with the kids and with their parents.
More recently one of the favorite hands-on activities for the kids has been nail driving. It is amazing how many kids (and adults) have never actually driven a nail. We use a piece of a beam on low supports so it is low enough that the kids can drive a nail or two while on their knees on a rubber mat. The piece of beam comes home very heavy.
We usually have 3 or 4 hammers going continuously all day both days. For safety we start all of the nails well so they can't flip out.We have also had a yellow poplar board mounted in two B&D Workmates and allowed the kids (under supervision) to plane it with a couple of smooth planes ands a couple of spoke shaves. One activity that was very popular was boring holes in a board with a brace and auger bit. That is the most scary one and I will either provide plexi-glass shielding or discontinue it. You can get cut on a plane but not so deep.
It just requires too much supervision. Kids don't have any idea of the risk and many of their parents don't have any idea period.This year since I need a batch of gates I am thinking about setting up a gate making station as part of the display and I would be standing there making simple wooden gates much of the time mostly using fairly simple hand tools.
I am always looking for new ideas and I thought I would mention it here hoping that something might pop up that I could use.
