“I Spent the Day at the Zoo with an Elk” may sound like the title of a Dr. Seuss book. But for hundreds of students in Henry and St. Clair counties, it’s a reality.
They even got the T-shirt.
On May 3, Scott Humphreys and 25 members of the Clinton Elks Lodge took 184 students, teachers and aides from four school districts on a field trip to Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield. This is the 20th year the Elks has sponsored the field trip, which is for students who qualify for special services.
Scott is the youth activities chairman for Elks Lodge 1034 in Clinton, which started the annual zoo field day with 100 Clinton School District students in 2003. It has grown to five school districts and almost doubled in participants. Each district chooses which students go, and arranges for bus transportation, Scott said.
The Elks Lodge reimburses the district for the transportation costs, pays for entry fees and zoo train tickets, provides everyone with a hot lunch, and gives each student a T-shirt and a bottle of water and a box of animal crackers for the ride home.
“There is no cost to any of the schools,” Scott said.
How it started: Scott was visiting his daughter’s classroom at Clinton Middle School. He got to know the students well, he said, and that’s when he realized —some of the students had never been out of town, much less to the zoo.“They don’t usually get out with their class,” he said.
That first year, Scott arranged for the Elks to take Clinton students to the Kansas City Zoo. But the trip took too long and was so complicated, the Elks switched to the Dickerson Park Zoo on the north side of Springfield, an easier drive from Clinton and the school districts south of town. They have been happy with the choice, he said.
This year, the Clinton School District sent two buses of students, and the Calhoun, Montrose and Osceola school districts one bus each. Lakeland usually goes, he said, but had a conflict this year. The students are all ages, preschool through high school, and are accompanied by staff.
The drill: each school sets its own schedule when they want to arrive at the zoo and start touring— Osceola usually arrives first, he said. Meanwhile, Scott and a crew of Elks and family members set up grills and tables in the pavilion, and prepare a hot lunch.
The zoo lets the students and staff go through the gate without stopping, Scott said, then afterwards, he gives them a list of the number of participants — this year totaling 184 — and settles up afterwards.
“They are very easy to work with,” he said of the Dickerson Park Zoo staff.
Because it is the program’s 2Oth year, Mike Crocker, the zoo director, came out and spoke to them, Scott said, thanking them for introducing students to conservation and wildlife protection. He also posted a photo of the Elks on the DPZ Facebook and a few years ago, the zoo published an article in its magazine about the program.
The zoo train was not working this year, Scott said, so they traded their train tickets to buy lettuce to feed the giraffes.
The giraffes and the monkeys are the students’ favorite exhibits at the zoo, Scott said. The Dickerson Park Zoo has more than 500 animals representing 160 species, including kangaroos from Australia, tigers and elephants from Asia, and lions and giraffes from Africa.
The North American exhibit includes black bears and mountain lions, but Scott is not sure if it includes any actual elks.
The Clinton Elks Lodge youth program also sponsors a Little League team, softball and boys’ baseball, and gives scholarships to high school seniors. Last Thursday night, at a concert by the middle school and high school jazz bands, the Elks presented a check for $500 to Pat Miles, director of the Clinton School band program, to help buy a new sousaphone for the band. The Lodge also provided the room free of charge for the concert.
Scott’s daughter is now 36, but is one of three people, counting himself, who have gone on the trip every year. Other Elks also bring their wives and family members.
And everyone —students, school staff, zoo staff, Elks and their families —enjoy it.
“It’s a fun deal,” Scott said.
Zoo Director Mike Crocker published a book last year, “True Tales from the Dickerson Park Zoo.” Subtitle: “There’s a Crocodile in the Bathtub!”.
