Lucy Welles
liw002@marietta.edu
Families walking down the mall on Friday evening took a double take when they saw that the Kramer Amphitheater had literally turned into a zoo.
The Valley Exotic Zoo, a mobile petting zoo based out of Eaton, Ohio, specializes in education.
Jamie Beneke, the zoo’s owner, told The Marcolian that they regularly travel to area colleges to share over 150 animals with students.
“Today we have a bearded dragon, ball pythons, corn snakes, a plated lizard, a tarantula, Asian forest scorpions, moon crabs, a Pac-Man frog and a baby wallaby,” he said.
The Pioneer Activities Council (PAC) chose to bring these cuddly critters to Marietta College on Family Weekend, an annual series of family-oriented events that ran from Sept. 18-20 this year. Consequently, animal lovers both young and old got to share in the petting zoo experience without ever leaving campus.
“People get to see and pet animals from all over the world. We have animals from New Zealand and South America right here in Ohio,” Beneke said.
Kaley Greenwood, a junior environmental science major, took a special liking to Pebbles, a 9-month-old wallaby.
“She has all the cuddliness of a dog without all the annoying qualities of a dog,” she said with a laugh.
Nikki Hannaway, a senior advertising and public relations and marketing double major, is the executive director of PAC. She oversees the organization’s multiple committees and aids in the execution of events.
Both Hannaway and the director of PAC’s Traditions Committee, senior marketing and business management major Emily Jones, played a key role in bringing the zoo to Marietta.
“We actually came across the Valley Exotic Zoo at the National Association for Campus Activities conference, which was held in Minneapolis last year. They had the wallaby there with them as well as an owl,” Hannaway told The Marcolian.
“The zoo has really helped bring in the families, especially with younger kids. Attendance at Family Weekend in general has improved from last year already. Having the zoo made families come earlier,” Jones added.
Greenwood appreciates the work PAC has done to bring the Valley Exotic Zoo to campus.
“PAC has really stepped up their game this year,” she said.
