Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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by TOM ALBERG idea of taking a three hour class that offered no credit was something most people wouldn ' t even consider. However, a few select students chose to work with the Sunset Zoo intern program. Six hundred hours of work and they received no credit what- so-ever. I think the school tends to be a little closed-minded at times. They have ideas of what the zoo is, said Kale Bedinghaus, full-time keeper and former intern. The 600 hours they spent were full of learning every aspect of the zoo. They spent one week, 40 hours, with each keeper learning everything the keeper did on his string. A string was the individual branch to which each keeper was assigned. The strings were hoof stock, children ' s zoo, primates, and top and lower tier animals. With the primate keeper they also learned to plan the diets of all the animals. By the end, they had to be able to do each string on their own. During the year of their internship, the interns spent one and a half hours in a class each Sunday. The people who do this (the intern program) have a tremendous commitment, Don Wixom, zoo education curator said. They have to make a big investment because it takes a lot of time. Each intern was also required to do an individual project. The project had to be something that would benefit the zoo even after the intern left the zoo, said Cindy Bolte, junior in life sciences. Her was to train birds of prey. Craig Zernickow, sophomore in fisheries and wildlife biology, wa s building holding facilities for the birds of prey that go on tour. Another intern, John Davis, senior in fisheries and wildlife biology, was observing and doing research on the spider monkey. Sheri Leavitt, sophomore in life sciences, took over the organization of the zoo library. During the school year, the program had nine midway through the year two of them were made staff members. This happened quite often at the zoo. Most of our staff was hired from interns we have had over the years, Wixom said. This is one way the zoo could pay back the interns. Along with no credit, they received no money for what they did. The students aren ' t paid salary and we don ' t charge Wixom said. Sunset did try to help the interns in many ways. They (the interns) get a chance to apply what they learn at the University, said Mike Quick, zoo keeper and former intern. The program offers many learning such as working with exotics, which is hard to teach in the middle of the United States. Just the opportunity to work so closely with the animals was important. There is something about an eagle flying and then one sit on my arm that is a natural high for me, said. Or, when a chimp or tiger responds to you is pretty incredible. Each intern was allowed to pick a staff member as their adviser. The adviser ' s job was to evaluate them, give them feedback on how they were doing, advise them and keep track of them throughout the program. If you want to get into zoo keeping, this is probably the best way, because if you are ever hired somewhere, you are required to perform. If you don ' t like the j ob you have, you have to quit, but as an intern you can explore and decide whether it ' s for you or not, said Tim Marshall, zoo keeper and former participant in the intern program. JOHN DAVIS, senior in wildlife notes the various behaviors of Spider Monkeys. (Photo by Gary Lytle)

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FLAPPING AND fluttering, an owl held by Sunset Zoo intern Craig Zernickow, sophomore in pre-med, adjusts it ' s footing while Sunset Zoo Education Curator Don Wixom talks about how an owl sees. (Photo by Gary Lytle) CINDY BOLTE, junior in life sciences, holds a boa constrictor for the fourth grade class at Marlatt Elementary School to touch, if they want to. (Photo by Gary Lytle)

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the sounds of music and children ' s laughter, more than 35,000 people enjoyed the events at the Flinthills Festival, during the weekend of Sept. 23-25. Conducted at Manhattan City Park, the festival offered a variety of arts and crafts as well as children ' s activities, food, folklife and history The entertainment ranged from storytellers and jugglers to country, folk and rock music. The Flinthills Festival was a partnership of the City of Manhattan, Manhattan Arts Council, Manhattan-Ogden Public Schools and K-State, said Kent Glasscock, of the festival. The for having the festival at all came from the University. According to John Biggs, executive director of the Manhattan Arts Council and steering committee member, one of the festival ' s purposes was to incorporate K-State ' s Kansas Folklife and Manhattan ' s summer Arts and Crafts Fair into one large event. The response to this idea was positive throughout the community, Biggs said prior to the festival. I liked the way it was set up combining the two events, said Mikki McCoy, sophomore in nutritional sciences and pre-medicine. There were a lot more arts and crafts and it was well arranged. We tried to include the University any way we could, Glasscock said. In the future, we will get more University involvement through classes. The fall timing was difficult the first year, but now instuctors can prepare. One class that did participate in the festival was the Recreational Leadership class. As a requirement for the class, students had to help with an event such as the or the University ' s Career Day. Sean Mertz, member of the class and junior in leisure said he chose to work at the obstacle course in the children ' s area because he enjoyed working with kids. Many children, along with their friends and, occasionally, parents, raced through the course, sending straw flying. In addition to the obstacle Continued on page 32 A HANDCARVED figure is being made from a single block of wood at the Festival. (Photo by Christopher Assaf) by MIKE NICHOLS LORELEI PAGE