ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, March 26, 1996 TAG: 9603260080
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
BEETLES, ROACHES, FLEAS and other pests brought in by an exterminator company caught the attention of some of the children.
For a day, the children exchanged their schoolbooks for bugs, clowns and a flying squirrel. They learned about the adult world.
Seven-year-old Jennifer Edwards realized her dream of becoming a clown for a few hours. She wore a pink wig, red painted lips and black marks on her face.
"It feels funny. I would like to be a silly clown," said Jennifer, a first-grader at the Roanoke Academy for Mathematics and Science.
Bugs were the biggest attraction for Dominique Parks. There were beetles, cockroaches, fleas, hornets, termites and wasps mounted in plastic cases.
Dominique, a first-grader, also got to see a black widow spider and a dead rat in a jar of formaldehyde. He shuddered when he looked at the rat.
The eyes of the children in another class were focused on a flying squirrel cupped in the hands of Amy Chattin, an educator at Mill Mountain Zoo.
The bugs, clowns and squirrel were part of the Roanoke school's recent career day, which acquaints children early in their school years with vocations and volunteer work.
"We want to get them started thinking about job opportunities and the value of education at the elementary level," said Emily Cash, a counselor at the school.
"If we get them interested in something now, they'll be in a better position to make choices when they get to middle school," she said.
Participants in the career day included representatives from banks, florists, government agencies, hospitals, motels, a newspaper, restaurant, television station and funeral home.
They sent representatives to talk about their work and answer the children's questions.
But the children seemed most fascinated with presentations by several businesses and agencies that were an added feature for career day: a pest control company, the Red Cross Clown Corps, Mill Mountain Zoo and a professional model.
Jeff Rigdon, regional supervisor for a termite control business, gave the children a lesson in bugs and exterminating services. He had a table full of bug exhibits.
He explained the benefits of some bugs and insects in pollinating flowers and fruit trees, but noted that others are harmful and can destroy houses if unchecked.
The children peppered him with questions and told him about their experiences with bugs.
In the school's auditorium, Thomas Stokes, youth coordinator for the Red Cross, entertained and informed the children about becoming clowns.
He painted the faces of several students and gave them big hats and glasses to complete their attire.
Stokes said the Red Cross has clowns as part of its volunteer services program in nursing homes and children's wards in hospitals.
Children are eligible to become clowns when they turn 10 years old. The Clown Corps has increased from 3 to 65 in the past four years and will expand again next year, he said.
To become a clown, Stokes said, children must have good grades and no bad habits such as smoking or fighting. The requirements didn't discourage the children. All hands went up when Stokes asked who wanted to become a clown.
The children also talked with a professional model from Roanoke, Nicole Quarles, and learned what it's like to pose for photographs and appear in fashion shows and commercials.
For the children, it was an opportunity to see a little of the world of glamour - and to dream about what it would be like to be a celebrity.
They also learned about what it would be like to be a lawyer, work in a hospital or drive a Valley Metro bus.
"We want them to begin to think about the future," Cash said. "This is a great experience for the children to see what's out there."
LENGTH: Medium: 75 linesby CNB