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COURIER photo/Gabriel Fenoy
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| Children from Oakmont Elementary School in Claremont get an up-close look at Fluffy, the American Alligator, on Wednesday. |
Local kindergartners experience unique ‘show and tell’
The kindergarten students at Oakmont Elementary School were in for quite a treat when they walked into Oakmont teacher Scott Boen’s class on Wednesday morning. The same was also true for the parents that were in attendance for the school’s Kindergarten Open House.
With a passion for providing experiential learning for his students, Mr. Boen’s classroom became a venue for an exciting wildlife experience as The Animal Guys, Inc. provided a memorable show-and-tell presentation that allowed the kindergartners to see many rainforest creatures live and in person.
“Do you like the rainforest?” The Animal Guys co-founder David Riherd asked at the beginning of the presentation.
The students, already excited about what they were about to see, all responded together in unison.
“Yeah!” they replied.
An American alligator, squirrel monkey, great fox, sloth and lynx were just a few of the animals that were on hand inside Room 1 at Oakmont Elementary. The presentation was not just for entertainment purposes but also represented the culmination of a rainforest theme that Mr. Boen started at the beginning of the school year with his class.
“I believe that all kids should experience their learning—not only seeing and hearing about it, but being able to touch and feel it,” Mr. Boen said.
Wednesday’s occasion wasn’t just the result of Mr. Boen’s passion but also came about by the efforts of Oakmont parents. One family donated money to cover the cost of the classroom visit and another family was responsible for connecting Mr. Boen with the wildlife educational organization.
The Animal Guys, Inc. was founded 10 years ago by biologists Mr. Riherd and Paul Hahn. Its philosophy is to teach biology by bringing education to life and that the educational process should be fun and exciting.
The two co-founders are part of a team of biologists and wildlife educators that make up the organization, whose background include ecology, marine biology, zoology, animal behavior and molecular genetics. Their enthusiasm about what they do is something they hope is shared by their audiences.
“We get a kick out of doing these presentations,” Mr. Riherd said. “Many times the kids are studying about the animals and it’s fun to show up and be able to show them the animals they’re studying. Even at the zoo, they usually won’t get to see them this close. We think that what we do is fascinating and we hope that others find it just as fascinating.” (story continues below)
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COURIER photo/Gabriel Fenoy
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| Lola, the two-toed sloth, hangs out in Scott Boen’s Oakmont Elementary School kindergarten class. The sloth and other exotic animals were brought to the school to teach children about animals from the earth’s rainforests. |
The “ooohs” and “aaahs” among the students each time a new animal was introduced confirmed that the presentation held the interest of the kindergartners in attendance. While Mr. Hahn and Mr. Riherd gave a description of each animal they presented to the group, the students were also allowed to ask questions regarding the featured animal.
Parents were equally as entertained as the children, with the presentation being the first time that many of them had the chance to see the animals in close proximity.
“It was unbelievable,” said Matt Teson, an Oakmont parent. “How often you get the opportunity to get real up close and personal with these types of animals? It’s a good experience for the kids to be this close to them and to be able to see what they actually look like.”
According to Mr. Boen, the presentation on Wednesday morning was the best that he has seen out of the different presenters he has brought to his class in his 4 years of teaching at Oakmont. Such an event is no surprise to Oakmont Principal Kevin Ward, who has grown accustomed to the experiential style that characterizes Mr. Boen’s classroom.
“Depending on the curriculum, he does something like this every year,” Mr. Ward said. “Last year, he had a presenter bring a bunch of reptiles to his room.”
At the end of the day, Mr. Boen believes that the experiences are what his students will hold on to, possibly for the rest of their lives.
“I firmly believe in experiential learning,” he said. “This is something that they will never forget and will hopefully encourage them to become lifelong learners.”
—Landus Rigsby
