This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Turkey Hill Dairy. All opinions are my own.
We’re big Turkey Hill fans in our house. Tommy drinks about a gallon of tea a day, I love the lemonades, and who doesn’t love some Turkey Hill ice cream?!?
The Turkey Hill Experience opened in 2011. The building that they used was constructed in 1899 and was known as the Ashley & Bailey Silk Mill. After being empty for more than 25 years, Turkey Hill bought the building in 2009 and began renovations. The Turkey Hill Experience includes 26,000 square feet of family-friendly exhibits and activities.
Our day started out pretty early. Nanny (my mother-in-law) met us at our house about 9am, we then dropped off Owen at Mommom’s (my mom), and headed on our way. The Turkey Hill Experience is about an hour and 15 minutes from where we live in Cecil County, MD.
I knew we had arrived when I saw the water tower on Rt 30 with the Turkey Hill Experience Logo! We got off the highway and made the circle around to a rather sketchy looking old building (remember I said it was from 1899?) with the bright Turkey Hill Experience logo in the front. The giant cow and ice cream container aren’t always there, they travel everywhere!
When you walk inside, you walk right into the gift shop and lobby area. You can buy your tickets at the desk to the right.
| The Experience | The Experience & Taste Lab | |
| Adult (ages 18-61) | $9.95 | $14.50 |
| Junior (ages 5-17) | $7.95 | $12.50 |
| Senior (ages 62+) | $8.95 | $13.50 |
|
Children (ages 4 & under) |
Free | $4.55 |
Admission is required to visit the main exhibit area and the Taste Lab. The Taste Lab sells out often (especially on the weekends), so it is recommended to buy your tickets online to ensure you’re spot in the Taste Lab!
To enter The Turkey Hill Experience, you head upstairs to learn some history of Turkey Hill Dairy and the area in general. Oh and the inside doesn’t look sketchy at all (as you can see). Tommy and I were talking about how beautiful the inside of the building is and how awesome it is that Turkey Hill used a building that was already in place. As you continue to the interactive exhibits, you’ll be greeted by cows you can milk and a truck you can “drive”.
Of course, Charlie loved driving the milk truck and milking the cows. I found it rather comical to watch him try to milk the cows! Since this is the first thing you come to, it kind of bottle necks here, so it was a good chance to work on some of our skills: patience, waiting our turn, and letting someone else take their turn.
Your ticket will have a special code on it you’ll use throughout the exhibits to make your own flavor ice cream, design your packaging, and create your commercial. Here’s mine:
And yes, I completely missed my R in Strawberry. Word to the wise: double check yourself! I really do know how to spell STRAWBERRY.
The activities throughout The Turkey Hill Experience are good for any age level.
Tommy enjoyed playing playing a few games with Charlie (and by himself), he pushed his sleeve up for round 2- it was game on. There’s even a ball pit! What kiddo doesn’t love a ball pit?
Included in your Experience ticket is your ability to sample endless amounts of teas and ice cream! We sampled some ice cream, teas, and my mother-in-law found a new yummy treat: Turkey Hill’s new iced coffee!
After playing around for about an hour, it was time for our date with the Taste Lab! Everyone washed their hands then waited patiently for instructions on how to make our own ice cream creation. For a little boy (or anyone) it’s really hard to sit in front of all of these flavorings and add-ins without touching!
Everyone starts out with plain white ice cream. You can then add flavoring to your ice cream if you’d like. After that’s all stirred together comes the inclusions: cookies, nuts, fruits, sprinkles, etc. The entire side wall is full of them! Once it’s all combined, your creation goes into the freezer to harden it up a bit while you learn a little more about how Turkey Hill ice cream is made. I was surprised how nicely Charlie sat waiting for his ice cream to be returned to him, but I think he was rather worn out after playing so hard before the Taste Lab.
We took what seems like a million pictures, but I’m not going to share them all with you (though it’s been hard picking what to share). We had a fantastic time and I know we’ll be returning. My mother-in-law already said she’d love to take the other grandchildren there (aging from 4 to 11 year olds), knowing that they would all enjoy it. If you’re in the area (or planning to visit) of MD, DE, or PA, this is definitely worth a visit!
You can connect with Turkey Hill and The Experience at their website, Facebook, and Twitter.
And thanks to Turkey Hill Dairy, one Mom’s Messy Miracles reader will win a family 4 pack of tickets to The Turkey Hill Experience with the Taste Lab!
Kathy Penney says
I love plain old vanilla ice cream or butter pecan or cookies and cream.
Amber says
Looks like a really fun place to visit with the kids!! I can’t do dairy, so I do coconut milk ice cream. It’s good, but I miss real ice cream!
Carly Anderson says
This looks so fun!!!
Deb Clem-Buckert says
We have a place here in Kansas that’s similar and so much fun for little kids. Looks like you had a blast!
Breanna says
Looks like a fun day out 🙂
amber mccain says
I bet this was such a fun little outing! It looks like you guys had a blast 🙂
Debbie Lamb says
What a FUN place!! Wish it was closer to us!
PamIW says
Wow, what an experience. Great family fun and I bet you could go back there several times and have a great time.
I would love to make some coconut ice cream.
Angela says
I love me some Turkey Hill ice cream and didn’t know this place existed. Looks like so much fun!
Bekah @ re•solve says
Oh my goodness – we literally just went to Lancaster Co like 2 weekends ago and debated going here. We didn’t have the time but it came highly recommended. Would love to go back and stop there another time!
meagan says
Oh wow, that ice cream looks fantastic. Looks like such a fun place to visit.
Alesha @ Full Time Mama says
I’ve never heard of Turkey Hill before, but it sounds fantastic! That place looks like a blast too!!
Robin Rue says
How fun! I have done the Ben & Jerry’s tour in Vermont, but that one looks way better.
Kristine Foley says
Looks like a blast! My family would love it! Their ice cream…… drooooool!
Chelsea says
This would be so fun for the kids! I’d love the taste testing part… 🙂
Rachee says
The taste testing would be my favorite spot! This looks like a fun trip!
Krystal says
This looks like a very cool attraction. Thanks for the giveaway!
savoryexperiments says
You and your family have so many fun adventures! I’m jealous!
Karen Koblan says
This looks like such a fun place to visit! I love Turkey Hill ice cream. Their vanilla is the best!
Ashley says
How fun! The tasting room reminds me of my kitchen when I get creative. Somehow I think that Turkey Hill’s kitchen is more successful than mine.:-)
Ange says
How fun! I want to go!!
Chef Demetra Overton says
What a great way to spend the day, I would love to visit here. I would love to visit the tasting lab, I don’t think I’d ever leave.
Carly says
What a cool experience- pun intended! My kids would love this- too bad we live all the way in Georgia!
Kendra Darr says
That looks like so much fun!
Christie says
What a fun experience for the family! I’m going to need to put this on our must see list!
Jillian @ Hi! It's Jilly says
This looks like so much fun! I know my kiddos would love it!
Onica {MommyFactor} says
Oh what a fun place to go. My son would love to try and milk a cow! Not to mention enjoy some ice cream afterwards.
kim says
What a fun place to take the family. Love the cow!
Debra Rutt says
I would create something with peanut butter, chocolate chips and pretzels! Looks like a fun and yummy trip!
Ashley M says
What a fun night for family. I love that you can mix, match and create your own.
Julia Hunter says
I’ve been wanting to go here, it sounds like so much fun.
Heidi Strawser says
I’ve been wanting to take my kids here, and now I want to even more! Great review. I’d create a coffee-flavored icecream with heath bars and almonds.
CoupontobeDebtFree says
I would create a fruit and ice cream mixture. Yum!
momspanelanna says
I’d create something totally unique – nuts and chocolate LOL – I know, already done, but can you really ever have too much of a good – no, great – thing?
NJ @ A Cookie Before Dinner says
I’d create something sweet and salty. Maybe chocolate pretzel?
miranda papandreou says
something with peanut butter!
Lauren Snyder says
i love turkey hill’s graham canyon, so definitely something with graham swirls!
Beth Renna says
Sounds like fun. Might have to try it.
Kelly Dickens says
New to the whole Turkey Hill brand, this would make a great family experience. Ke