Video: Temporary Zoo Sets Up Shop in Okolona

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OKOLONA, Miss. (WCBI) – Students at an area school get a hands on lesson about exotic animals. As WCBI’s Allie Martin tells us, the special event helps fourth graders complete a major project and provide a rare opportunity for other students.

For one day, the gym at Okolona Elementary hosted an interactive zoo.

“Once one kid starts to hold something, another one will start, then another one, then another one.”

Leah Huerkamp is the school’s fourth grade science teacher. She also happens to own these exotic animals and when her class was learning about reptiles and amphibians, Huerkamp wanted took the lesson to another level.

Students researched the animals, created a poster board and presented information about the snakes, frogs and lizards to students in kindergarten through third grade as they visited the zoo.

“They were very excited when they got to meet the frog and they were like, wow, that’s cool.”

“I learned that a bald python , lives in south america and africa and eats certain kinds of rodents, like rats and mice.”

Huerkamp hopes everyone involved learned valuable lessons.

“I hope they learn some things about the animals but I also hope they learn not to fear some of these things, there’s a lot of fear of amphibians, reptiles and snakes and I am just trying to help educate and stop some of the fears.”

While her animals are exotic, there was a display for other creatures found all throughout Northeast Mississippi. In Okolona, I’m Allie Martin WCBi News.
Several parents also came out to learn about the exotic creatures.