Lansing resident Michael Chen, Audrey Chen, and Chloe Chen play with a chick at Small Animals Day Saturday afternoon at the MSU poultry Research Farm. Children were able to hold small ducks and meet horses at the Horse Teaching and Research Center.
Painted horses and newly hatched chicks were highlights of Saturday’s Small Animals Day, an educational event sponsored by the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Small Animals Day brought families out to MSU’s farms to learn about the animals that live there.
“It’s a good way to expose the kids to farm animals,” said Mary McDonald, an animal science junior and volunteer at the Horse Teaching and Research Center. “Most kids don’t have the chance to see or touch a baby cow or see a horse and this day is their opportunity.”
MSU has hosted Small Animals Day for more than fifty years with the help of volunteers from various agricultural clubs on campus, McDonald said.
This year, the Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education featured exhibits that explained different farming techniques, and tables where children could color animal-themed pages from coloring books. Participants could get up close and personal with calves and tortoises before taking a horse-drawn carriage ride or hopping on a bus to visit one of the other farms.
Families boarded Capital Area Transportation Authority buses at the Pavilion and made their rounds to the Horse Teaching and Research Center and poultry Research Farm.
Craig Kueffner, a Lansing resident, brought his children to Small Animals Day after hearing about the event through word of mouth.
Since he had taken his children previously to zoos and county fairs that allowed them to interact with animals, Kueffner said he knew they would enjoy this event.
“They especially liked the horse barn,” he said. “For them, seeing the young colts was the best part.”
At the horse farm, the MSU Equestrian Team offered children the opportunity to paint their horses as a fundraiser for their trip to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association National Championship Show next month in California. Children had the chance to hold ducklings and chicks and watch them hatch in incubators at the poultry farm.
Monica Ryan, an animal science senior and member of Block & Bridle Club, volunteered at the event for the second time this year and said the exposure to farm life gives people a new perspective on how animals get their food.
“I think it’s important for people to come out and see this because today’s consumers are many generations removed from the farm,” Ryan said. “People need to understand the importance of animal agriculture and understand how these animals are raised.”
Mark Pricco, a Grand Ledge resident, brought his daughters to the event with a different plan in mind.
“Truthfully, we just wanted to get them tired out,” Pricco said. “But I knew they would like the animals and the face painting and the carriage ride.”
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