Christopher, our barred owl that lives outside next to Max the Steer and Chummix the Goat in the Farmyard, recently took a field trip to a local school to visit some second graders. He had a great time. Sherry (the Animal Department Director) gave the students all kinds of interesting information about him (you can read more about barred owls here and here). The students were able to meet several of our eduction animals during a special animal program (I went along with Sherry and it was a great deal of fun!)

Afterward, the students drew some amazing pictures of their favorite animal to visit their classroom. We love this particular one (see below) because it actually tells a story of what happened during the visit. Christopher was being held by Sherry, but he got a little nervous when the students made some noise as they moved from sitting on the floor to their desks. So, instead of sitting quietly on her arm, he spread his wings and tried to fly away. Of course he couldn’t really fly away because Sherry was holding the leash and the little leather jesses that he wears around his legs.

Here is the picture showing Sherry holding Christopher as he tries to fly (note Sherry’s purple Museum of Life & Science shirt, her long hair, and smiling face). I’ve also included a video clip (in slow motion) that shows what it really looked like!