Students enrolled in Riverton Parke’s Advanced Animal Science and Landscape Management courses had the opportunity to travel to the Indianapolis Zoo on Monday, April 28th. While at the zoo, students had the opportunity to participate in a ‘Behind the Scenes’ tour relative to their coursework. Students in the Advanced Animal Science course completed a tour of the Animal Care Facilities which included the veterinary hospital and commissary. At the veterinary hospital, students saw the surgery room, necropsy area, treatment room, and the laboratory space. While in the laboratory, one of the lab technicians explained what he was currently working on. He was looking at a sample of elephant’s blood under the microscope and was checking for a specific virus and counting white blood cells. He shared that they check the elephant’s blood twice a week. After touring the hospital, students traveled to the commissary which is where all the food for the zoo animals is delivered and prepared. Students saw the workers sorting a food delivery and talked with one of the nutritionists about the diets of all the different zoo animals. Students in the Landscape Management course completed a plant tour with a landscape specialist at the zoo. Students walked through the White River Gardens and learned how landscape experts change plants throughout the year providing color and beauty through each of the seasons. They also visited the wedding garden which hosts several weddings each season. Students finished the tour exploring the beautiful botanical conservatory that houses hundreds of species of tropical plants as well as butterflies. After completing the tours, students had the opportunity to explore all the different exhibits the zoo offers. The Riverton Parke Agriculture Department would like to extend a thank you to the Parke County Community Foundation for assisting with providing funds for the students to attend the trip which helped pay for the general zoo admission and tickets for the ‘Behind the Scenes’ tours. We greatly appreciate the Community Foundations continued support of the agriculture department! The trip was organized and chaperoned by agriculture teachers, Michaela Woods and Micah Humphreys.
Pictured at the Indianapolis Zoo includes, front row (left to right): Mary Pruitt, Lucy Collom, Emily Adams, Cathleen McKee, Sophie Hixson, Felicity Montgomery, Aubri Morman, Mya Kenley, Tulie Boyle, Kiara Clocksin; middle row: Kadyn Presslor, Brody McConnell, Jett Lesniak, Connor Amerman, Kane Llewellyn, Jacob Cottrell, Ehren Dickerson; back row: Joel Harrah, Dane Mullinix, Jace Shouse, Thomas Koch, and Gavin Spence.