Teddy bears and other stuffed animals also need some medical attention from time to time. A zoo in the US hosts such wellness checkups for stuffies.
The Riverside Discovery Center hosted such a teddy bear checkup, the StarHerald reports. Children of all ages brought their stuffed teddy bears, bunnies, cows and even sharks to the zoo for a visit to check their health during the Teddy Bear Clinic event. RDC Education Curator Amber Schiltz hosted the clinic for the first time as the new curator and enjoyed seeing nearly 450 people come by the zoo on Saturday.
Schiltz said her favorite part of being involved with the Teddy Bear Clinic was watching all of the children and how involved they were within it.
“Seeing the kids walk up with their teddy bears is just the cutest thing I have ever seen,” she said. “With their little bandages and just seeing how much fun they are having with the activities is really cool.”
Aside from giving their favorite stuffed animals an annual checkup, children also took part in a special crafts station in the zoo learning lab. These activities included making x-rays of their hands using black paper, chalk and cotton swabs. They also colored a picture of a teddy bear with a stethoscope.
Throughout the zoo campus, four health assessment stations were set up for the stuffed animals to get their eyes, ears and noses checked, shots and measurements, and of course first aid. All of these were recorded by the nurses and volunteers for the children to have on record.
The goal is to give children a better and more hands-on approach to getting to know how important is to learn to take care of animals, both plush and real. It also gives them a better idea what medical procedures involve and learn to make basic bandages.
Everyone were pleased wit hthe event. Hopefully it will turn into a regular thing.
