The city of Wichita has taken the proverb “it takes a village to raise a child” to heart. Various non-profits around Wichita have joined together to offer Tot Tuesday, free educational programs for children aged zero to five.
“It’s an effort between the museums here in Wichita to offer some free programming for families,” Education Specialist for Early Childhood Patty Rice said. “We wanted to work together and just really offer some fun and free activities for families.”
Sedgwick County Zoo hosts Tot Tuesday the fourth Tuesday of the month. This thirty-minute class starts at 10:30 a.m. and does not require any registration.
“When they come to the class, we visit for a little bit, maybe talk about the animals, and then we read a story,” Rice said. “And then when the story’s done, we’ll bring out some bio facts, or things that come from the animals in that story and show them to the kids.”
Children are encouraged to ask questions about the animal they’ve just learned about while interacting with the bio-facts. These bio-facts range from teeth and bones from animals to hair or hides.
“Then we’ll have an animal visitor that comes in that they’re able to observe. Sometimes we’re allowed to touch, just depends on the animal,” Rice said.
Sometimes the class learns about an animal that can’t come visit, so a short field-trip is necessary. Rice says Tot Tuesday has previously visited the flamingos and chimpanzees out in the Zoo.
Each Tot Tuesday class varies. Sometimes there is music and singing, or an activity such as fingerplays.
“We want learning about animals and the environment to be accessible to all families. So, I think it’s important that we try to offer some programming that is free,” Rice said. “It’s a great time for people to come out and spend some time at the Zoo and learn about animals.”
