Students at Mile 108 Elementary and 100 Mile Elementary got to visit with all kinds of reptiles at the start of the week.
“Basically we just come here, bring a bunch of animals to teach kids and the teachers and adults all about reptiles and kind of talk about things that they don’t know. Just some fun facts about them and try to dispel some myths about everything being scary and dangerous. Basically just have a fun time teaching kids about animals,” says Mike Hopcraft with Wild Education.
The visit was arranged by the schools’ parent advisory councils.
“Some things they learn, for instance, our chinchillas there, people learn that they’re critically endangered because they’re hunted for their fur because people like to make fur coats out of them,” says Hopcraft. “We learn about turtles and tortoises. The big difference between turtles and tortoises because everybody thinks they’re all the same thing, where tortoises can’t swim and turtles can swim. And with snakes, we teach a lot about responsible pet ownership because a lot of our animals are rescues and surrenders. So we like to make sure that people understand that you shouldn’t get a little albino boa because it’s really cute because eventually, it’s going to grow in the bigger one we have there that’s seven [to] eight feet long.”
Grade 2/3 teacher Tammie Ozanne, who’s retiring in two weeks, ended up with a load of snakes around her neck.
“I was covered with snakes about 25 years ago,” she says. “I got triple dog dared to get it done then so the reptile guys thought we should do it again.”
Ozanne says she thinks the visit was wonderful and that they should come up every year.
“It’s a great hands-on activity and it’s a great way for kids to get educated in all the snakes and lizards, that they don’t need to be afraid of.”
The students enjoyed it immensely, she says.
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