A Wild Day at SNA

A group of students hold a python

On Wednesday, October 19th, K-12 classes gathered in the gym for a presentation from Wildlife Encounters, a New Hampshire based organization that brings live animals to schools to teach students about wildlife through interactive experiences. The visit was set up by Mrs. Lopez, the EK/K teacher, as part of her students’ science unit on New England animals. The program facilitator brought many different animals to the school including a tarantula, a coati, and a parrot.

Mrs. Lopez explained that her main goal for this visit was to grow student engagement. “We felt that inviting Wildlife Encounters would be a great way to deepen student engagement. Their visit allowed the children to have a hands-on, meaningful experience that connects directly to what we’ve been learning in class,” she said. The class has been studying the habitats, diets, and characteristics of New Hampshire animals, so the presentation provided examples of both familiar animals and animals from different environments.

Mrs. Lopez explained that before the visit, her students had spent time guessing which animals they thought might be brought, and after the presentation, they had a discussion about what they had learned and seen, even identifying which animals were mammals.

The parrot was the class favorite.  Mrs Lopez explained, “Not only was she beautiful, but she was also one of the animals the class had hoped would visit. The students were very excited to see her up close.” Mrs Lopez hopes that activities and experiences like this will help students to build skills like making real-world connections and understanding the importance of nature.