![]() ![]() Somehow they fly up to 3,000 miles to winter in Mexico where they are rewarded with a nice stay in exchange for their yeoman’s service to their species. But the autumn monarchs are built to last, relatively speaking, though you’d never think so to look at them. Each of them except this last one lives no more than a matter of weeks. ![]() Many chrysalises remain in Henry’s classroom.Įvery year sees several generations of monarchs. There are more where today’s squadron came from. A few others let them have a headstart on the long journey ahead. Tuesday morning a few immediately took off. ![]() Students place the butterflies on bushes outside the school’s main entrance. Then they’re gently bagged in a mesh carrier and escorted downstairs for release. Each day several more adult monarchs emerge and tentatively flex the intricate wings being fueled by fluids pumped up from the abdomen. The eggs hatched into caterpillars or larvae which transformed into the pupal or chrysalis stage. But the fragile, teetering, tottering balance of life on earth was perhaps more vividly demonstrated down the hall in Room 2310 where biology teacher Deb Henry’s classes have been sending monarch butterflies winging to Mexico on a daily basis since school started last month.Ĭolleagues of Henry harvested eggs from milkweed plants in their yards over the summer. The visiting wildlife decorated and facilitated a broader class discussion about endangered habitats and species. She had little to say, unlike “Amboro,” the finely feathered blue and gold rain forest macaw who was happy to wave, flex, repeat his name and do impressions of his distant cousin the chicken upon request anything for a treat. When “Jersey” the boa constrictor was lifted from her transport cooler it looked like her handlers were lugging a rolled up rug on moving day. Mingling with the human teens indigenous to Room 2250 were a cane toad, a macaw, a handheld juvenile alligator and, most impressively, an eight-foot, 35 pound snake. In one upstairs environmental science classroom Noreen Nsereko and her students welcomed a menagerie of guests from the Blank Park Zoo. There’s always a lot of life at Roosevelt High School, just not in quite so many forms as on Tuesday morning. More than 400,000 people visit the zoo in a typical year.A small alligator from Blank Park Zoo was a guest today at a class at Roosevelt High School. It first opened in 1966 and is one of the state’s most popular attractions for families. It combines Asian culture, wildlife conservation, and the latest technology.īlank Park Zoo is a 49-acre zoological park on the south side of Des Moines. The event was inspired by traditional Chinese lantern festivals (which date back thousands of years to the Han Dynasty and are believed to have originated with Buddhist Monks) but it has a modern twist. “This amazing festival is designed to wow you, and it’s unlike anything that has been in Iowa before,” Blank Park Zoo President and CEO Anne Shimerdia said in a news release. Attendants enjoyed this stunning festival of over 35 larger-than-life illuminated animal shaped Asian lanterns designed and fabricated by artisans. Price Electric installed extra power distribution units, having to co-ordinate with the “live” zoo animals and their caretakers. Price Electric’s electrical service team was honored to do an electrical project to light up the grounds of the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines with the Wild Lights Festival! The zoo needed a lot of extra power for the lanterns and gorgeous illuminated animal light displays. ![]()
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