ROANOKE, Va. – At Mill Mountain Zoo, some children are stepping into the boots of real animal caretakers during National Zookeeper Week.
Niki Voudren, executive director at Mill Mountain Zoo, said, “I look at each individual camper and I wonder, are they gonna run the zoo one day.”
That big-picture thinking drives the Zookeeper Academy, a one-week camp for kids at the zoo.
Camper Reagan Maynard shared, “See I’ve always wanted to be a zookeeper ever since I was a little girl.”
Campers get hands-on experience with animal care, including feeding, cleaning and making each animal’s day a little better.
Kiana Nowall, zoo educator supervisor, explained, “They get to learn what it is to be a zookeeper whether that’s feeding the animals, making enrichment for the animals. We play some games, we do crafts, we go into a lot of the enclosures. As you saw when you got here, we were in the tippy enclosure, cleaning it out.”
When asked about the best part of stepping into a zookeeper’s shoes, a camper said, “My favorite part has been feeding the animals and doing enrichment for them.”
The camp coincides with National Zookeeper Week, a reminder that professionals do more than just cuddle animals.
Voudren said, “Rain or shine, excessive heat, ice, snow, zookeepers show up every day and they do their job, and they do it with skill, tenacity and resilience. They’re the first responders of Mill Mountain Zoo.”
With camps like this, the future of zookeeping could be closer than you think.
Voudren added, “Even better than that, I hope that they want to intern as a zookeeper, become a zookeeper because that’s how we found some of our zookeepers.”
Though campers may only be at the zoo for a week, the impact could last a lifetime. Camps | Mill Mountain Zoo | Non-Profit Conservation Zoo in Roanoke, VA | Blue Ridge Parkway Destination | Since 1952 | Virginia Wildlife Education