About 50 Franke Park Elementary kindergarten students watched transfixed Wednesday as an employee at the Indianapolis Zoo talked to them about snakes.
“What do snakes like to eat?” the expert asked the children.
“Carrots!” one student shouted. “Strawberries!” shouted another.
“No, snakes don’t eat strawberries,” the expert said. “They eat animals. Sometimes they eat rabbits and rats.”
“Ewwwwwwww!” the students said.
The experience was almost like a field trip but not quite. The lesson was conducted using videoconferencing equipment, so students could see and hear the snake expert, who could also see and hear the students as they sat on the floor of a classroom.
Videoconferences are a common occurrence at Franke Park Elementary, according to Principal Jim Emmerson. The school is a NASA explorer school, which means the agency has given the school money to invest in videoconferencing and other technology.
During a time of shrinking budgets and pressure to tie every activity to a learning goal, Emmerson said the virtual field trips are a great way to keep kids engaged.
“This is a good example of how we are bringing technology into the classroom and bringing field trips to the kids,” Emmerson said. “It’s obvious kids understood what they saw.”
Recognition
•Lauren Blakey of Bishop Dwenger High School has been selected to be a member of the 2012 U.S. Army All-American Marching Band.
Events
•East Allen County Schools will have a community meeting on the Heritage K-12 Project at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Heritage Junior-Senior High School.
IPFW
•The
Rev. Roland Stringfellow will address “Killing our Kids with Love: The Conflict between LGBTQ Youth and Communities of Faith,” at 7 p.m. today in the Walb Union Ballroom.
•IPFW’s chapter of Sigma Xi, the scientific research society, is hosting a panel discussion, “Undergraduate Research at IPFW” from noon to 1 p.m. today in Kettler Hall, Room 246.
•IPFW’s UC2 program will host “Voting: A Right and A Privilege” on Wednesday and Saturday. Contact Christopher Riley, assistant director of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, at 481-6847 or rileyc@ipfw.edu for more information.
•IPFW will present “The Right Mix,” with special guest Bobby Gordon from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday in the Liberal Arts Building, Room 159.
Ivy Tech
•Doug Horner, co-founder and chief technology officer of Medical Informatics Engineering, will cover topics including the entrepreneurial aspect of starting a business, the effect of electronic medical records, and other relevant health information topics at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Student Life Conference Center.
Defiance
•The Hench Autism Studies Program will conduct a parent meeting featuring Linda Krouse on at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Buchman Board Room on the second floor of the Serrick Campus Center.
Saint Francis
•The University of Saint Francis Student Nurses Association and the local American Red Cross will have a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday in the university’s North Campus gymnasium.
•Jim Moran will speak about the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum of Two Rivers, Wis., at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the North Campus Auditorium.
Manchester
•Manchester College will conduct student visit days Friday, April 25 and Nov. 5 and Nov. 19.
Huntington
•Huntington University’s graduate counseling department will have a visit day from 2 to 8:30 p.m. today.
