Purdue News
Purdue News
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April 17, 2004 Spring weather brings out the best in Purdue Spring FestWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Tropical millipedes emitted a harmless, but smelly, substance onto the skin of visitors to Purdue University's Bug Bowl petting zoo in Smith Hall on Saturday (4/17), the first day of the two-day Spring Fest. "Yech, that's disgusting," said Nathaniel Womack, 10, of Oxford, Ind., as he wiped his forearm of the goo that had just been secreted by the 6-inch-long millipede. "I guess it did that because it was afraid."
"I'm not touching that!" said Katy Waters, 9, of Fort Wayne, Ind. Her cousin Kaarin Herendeen, 4, of Fortville, Ind., was more curious than afraid and petted the fuzzy arachnid, while outside thousands of visitors enjoyed sunshine, temperatures in the low 80s and hundreds of fun and educational activities during the university's annual Spring Fest. Aquamarine blue tomato hornworms kept other visitors enthralled while walking sticks and Madagascar hissing cockroaches enticed others to pet and handle what some might be tempted to squish. Across campus at the School of Veterinary Medicine, colored paper hoof prints and paw prints of different shapes and sizes guided visitors to the many displays and demonstrations at the Vet School Open House. At 10 a.m. in the courtyard, K-9 officers showed about 100 amazed onlookers a mock attack by 3-year old K-9 German shepherd, Dag. Chasing and attacking criminals is one of many ways that trained K-9s help law enforcement officers, explained Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Scott Hodson.
Hodson explained the process of identifying dogs during training that will make good police dogs, and which won't. He also explained the police work performed by the K-9s in Tippecanoe County. "A good police dog has to have strong, stable nerves," he said. "Biting is only a minor part of what our dogs do. About 95 to 98 percent of what we do is scent detection, either narcotics and/or bomb. Our bomb dog gets called all over the state." A dog's sense of smell is so much greater than that of humans because dogs have about 220 million olfactory cells in their noses, compared to the 5 million of humans, Hodson said. Elsewhere on campus, visitors listened to music, tried to guess the amount of board feet in tree logs, climbed trees with the aid of pulleys and ropes, and tasted chocolate-covered crickets while others participated in a contest to spit the uncovered variety. Plant sales blossomed as the day wore on, and visitors enjoyed the smells of a variety of flowers in bloom. Mandy Doty and Kacy Dunn, both 9, of West Lafayette, learned the names of flowers like columbine and bleeding heart. By mid-afternoon, Spring Fest coordinator Danica Kirkpatrick, declared the first day a success. "With the great weather, we've had a great turnout," she said. "We couldn't have asked for a better day." Spring Fest, which is free and open to the public, continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday (4/18).
Writer: Reni Winter, (765) 496-3133, rwinter@purdue.edu PHOTO CAPTION 1: A publication-quality photograph is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2004/bugbowl04-spider.jpg PHOTO CAPTION 2: A publication-quality photograph is available at http://news.uns.purdue.edu/images/+2004/vet-openhouse-policedog.jpg
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