Purdue Veterinary Medicine’s Annual Open House Set for April 6

March 29, 2019

Kids pictured in scrubs examining a stuffed animal
Attendees of the 2018 PVM Open House practice their surgical skills in the Teddy Bear Clinic.

Students in the College of Veterinary Medicine are working hard to complete preparations for the annual Open House, which will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on April 6 in Lynn Hall.  Designed to help educate the community on all of the different aspects of veterinary medicine through various interactive activities, the student-organized event is held in conjunction with Purdue’s Spring Fest weekend, but is Saturday only.

The theme this year is “The Human-Animal Bond: Better Together,” which focuses on the mutually influential relationship between animals and people. Several familiar events will return to the Open House, including the Teddy Bear Suture Clinic, where kids dress up like surgeons and treat “injured” teddy bears. Other events and activities include:

  • Spay Surgery Demonstration: Visitors will be able to view a narrated live spay surgery performed on a pet that needs the procedure before being adopted.
  • Walk Through the Heart: First-year veterinary students will guide people through the different chambers of the heart, talk about the importance of parasite preventatives, and help visitors use auscultation models to practice listening to heart sounds.
  • Walk Through the GI Tract: Second-year veterinary students will take visitors on a journey though the four compartments of the GI tract of a horse. They will talk about horse nutrition and common parasites that can affect this part of the body.
  • Veterinary Nursing Displays: Attendees will be able to view radiographs and guess what is in the patient, and children will be able to use stuffed animals to practice bandaging.
  • Petting Zoo: Participants will get to interact with a variety of animals, including llamas, donkeys, goats, rabbits, ducklings, chicks, and a cow.
Small child reaches for a baby chick held by a Purdue veterinary student
A visitor sits down to meet a baby chick in the petting zoo at the 2018 PVM Open House.

Other attractions will include a food tent, an opportunity to meet blood donor dogs and exotic pets, and a chance to mingle with therapy pets that are trained to interact with the public in schools, libraries, and assisted living facilities. A search dog, Dash, from Midwest Search Dogs will also be in attendance. Additionally, the Indianapolis Zoo and Columbian Park Zoo will have displays that include artifacts for the public to view. Multiple Purdue Veterinary Medicine student clubs will set up booths and displays at the event and will be offering crafts such as animal origami and animal bookmarks for children.  Click here for more information about the Open House.

Writer(s): Jaclyn Lawmaster | pvmnews@purdue.edu

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