Rattan ninth and 10th grade GEAR UP students recently visited the Hochatown Animal Rescue Center and Petting Zoo. Students were led through buildings with stops that included interaction with the animals. Workers spoke about the conservation efforts to save animals abandoned by people or their mothers. Students had the opportunity to hold and pet several animals, such as Ball pythons, deer, foxes, opossums, chickens, horses, goats, baby alligators, and donkeys. Staff answered the students’ questions about how the different animals came to the rescue and their natural habitats. Students ended the trip with lunch at Grateful Head Pizza Oven and Tap Room in Broken Bow.
The field trip was sponsored by Eastern Oklahoma State College GEAR UP. Eastern received a $17 million federal GEAR UP grant in 2017, and will serve more than 3,000 students in 39 area schools for seven years.
