On Sat. April 14, at 10 a.m. in the cafeteria, the Environmental Education two students participated in Shawnee Mission Parents As Teachers PTA Animal Event. This event is held for all children in the district’s Parents As Teachers program, which is for pre-kindergarten children ages from newborns to 5 years old.

“The children are able to explore animals through touching and holding them,” Environmental Ed. Teacher Kristen Zuck said. “The high school students teach them about the behaviors and habitats of the animals.”

Along with meeting the animals, the children also had a coloring station, safari dig and story reading area. “It was fun to watch the kids play with the animals,” said Environmental Club Vice-President, senior Randi Nimz. “You could really see their faces brighten up when they got to pet the animals and color the pictures”

There were also some special guests from the Pets For Life, a group whose goals are to enhance the care and treatment of people in local hospitals, nursing homes, shelters for domestic violence, mental health programs, treatment centers for youth and corrections facilities through the use of certified therapy teams of pets and volunteers, allowing the kids to pet and play with the dogs up close.

“I thought it was cool that I could show off the animals that we take care of every day in class to make a bunch of little kids’ Saturday a little more exciting,” said Environmental Club President, senior Amy Hilt.

The high school students brought down a handful of their animals to share with the children including: an American Alligator, a Bearded Dragon, an Ornate Box Turtle, Chinchillas, Guinea Pigs, a Chameleon, a Ball Python, a Gerbil, a Checkered Albino Garter Snake, a Savannah Monitor, Leopard Geckos and an Armadillo Lizard.

“The animals we choose to bring out were some of the students’ favorites and they were the most friendly,” Zuck said. “This was our first event where we were actually able to get our animals out and share them with others.”