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Big Red's Barn Indoor Animal Experience and Education
4.8(876)4.8 out of 5 stars, 876 reviews Spokane, WA
About Big Red's Barn Indoor Animal Experience and Education
Big Red's Barn offers a highly interactive indoor animal experience featuring diverse species from petting animals to reptiles, sloths, and scorpions, with a strong emphasis on direct animal feeding and engagement. It particularly excels as a birthday party venue, providing comprehensive packages with dedicated rooms, extensive staff support for setup and entertainment, and generous animal food provisions, making it a memorable and high-value experience for families.
What parents should know
Summarized from real visitor reviews.
Best for: Birthday parties for children of various ages (e.g., 8-year-olds) seeking an engaging and memorable celebration with significant staff support.Families looking for a comprehensive indoor animal experience with extensive opportunities for interaction and feeding.Parents who prioritize clean and well-maintained facilities, even in an animal environment.Families desiring a venue where the staff goes above and beyond to ensure a positive experience.Perfect for all ages, with specific mentions of daughters celebrating birthdays (e.g., 8th birthday) indicating suitability for elementary school-aged children and younger, while the variety of animals and interactive elements appeal to a broader audience.
Why families love it
- Engaging indoor animal experience with three distinct zones: one for petting animals, one for reptiles, and another featuring a sloth, scorpions, snakes, and frogs.
- Highly interactive animal encounters, including a mischievous 'Black Llama' that actively tries to sneak vegetables from guest buckets, and super-friendly guinea pigs that enjoy soft lettuce.
- Birthday party packages are comprehensive, offering 90 minutes in a spacious party room, followed by full access to the animal areas until closing time.
- Exceptional staff noted for being flexible, very helpful, incredibly friendly, and wonderful to work with, even assisting with party room decorations (e.g., providing roses and a happy birthday balloon).
- Generous provision of animal food buckets for parties (e.g., 15 buckets even for smaller groups of 11 attendees), allowing kids to feed animals extensively.
- Animals are described as very friendly and clearly well taken care of, contributing to a positive experience.
Insider tips
- For birthday parties, consider the value of the $350 package which includes 90 minutes in a party room and full access to animals; planning and budgeting several months in advance is recommended if cost is a concern (e.g., 5 months for a single-income family).
- Be prepared for an authentic animal smell, particularly in the party room, which is part of the experience.
- Engage actively with animals, especially the 'Black Llama,' who is known for cleverly trying to get food from buckets.
- Take advantage of the staff's willingness to assist with party setup and decoration to minimize parental effort.
Good to know before you go
- Individuals or groups highly sensitive to animal smells, as the party room and potentially other areas will have a distinct animal odor.
- The party room can smell distinctly of animals, which is noted as part of a 'true animal experience' but might be off-putting for those not accustomed to it.
- Value
- General admission tickets are $15 per person. Birthday party packages cost $350 and include 90 minutes in a private party room, full access to the main animal room until closing, and 15 food buckets. The $350 party package is considered 'absolutely worth it' and 'very reasonable' by parents, even for smaller groups and single-income families, due to the extensive time, joy, and services provided.
- Food
- Birthday party packages allow for outside food for lunch and cake within the party room.
- Accessibility
- No specific accommodations for special needs or wheelchair accessibility were mentioned in the reviews.
- Safety
- Animals are described as 'friendly' and 'very clearly well taken care of', implying a safe environment for interaction, with helpful and pleasant staff on hand.
What parents say
"Had our daughter’s birthday party here and loved it! The kids had a blast and the party room was a great size with everything we needed. The staff were flexible and very helpful. Will definitely be doing another party here again. For those who aren’t used to animals it will smell like animals in the party room. It didn’t bother us but something to know about a true animal experience."
a month ago
"We enjoy an exciting indoor animal experience perfect for all ages—tickets are just $15! Discover three different areas to explore: one for petting animals, one for reptiles, and one featuring a sloth, scorpions, snakes, frogs, and reptiles. Our star of the show is Black Llama, the mischievous barn leader who watches every guest entering, ready to sneak some veggies from your bucket! Interacting with him (and trying to outsmart him!) is always a highlight. I tried my best so he couldn't see what I was holding, but he followed me until he found out I had carrot on my hand. Super-friendly guinea"
3 weeks ago
"I don’t usually write reviews, but after my recent experience—and after seeing a previous review—I felt compelled to share my perspective. I hosted a birthday party for my daughter with 11 attendees, including adults, and it was absolutely worth it. For $350, we got 90 minutes in the party room where we opened presents, had lunch, and enjoyed cake. Afterward, we had full access to the main room with the animals until closing time. I was impressed that, even though we had fewer guests, they provided the full 15 buckets of food instead of just 11. This allowed the kids to feed the animals more,"
3 months ago
Reviews sourced from public Google data.
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