Zoo friends get up close and personal with pupils
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Danielle Quaglia of the Philadelphia Zoo tries to give Needles the porcupine a snack during the "Who's Who at the Zoo" wildlife assembly program at the Frank J. Dugan Elementary School, Marlboro.

MARLBORO - Classroom 39 at the Frank J. Dugan Elementary School, Topanemus Road, was a zoo on Jan. 25, not because of rambunctious fourthgraders, but because the classroom had some visitors from the Philadelphia Zoo.

Fourth-grade pupils were treated to the zoo's program "Built to Survive." A grant from the Marlboro Educational Foundation supported the presentation. The program was presented by Philadelphia Zoo employee Danielle Quaglia and focused on exploring animal adaptation and survival.

After starting as an intern at the zoo three years ago, Quaglia was eventually hired and has since worked her way up from giving presentations at the zoo to going on the road. She said it is fun to see children learning about the animals.

Quaglia brought four of her friends from the zoo to Gloria Diamante's classroom. Chewie the chinchilla, Needles the North American porcupine, Rex the California kingsnake and Maya the greyhorned owl awed the students.

Barely containing their excitement, but trying to be quiet so as not to frighten the animals, the pupils filled the room, each hoping for a front row seat. Different classes rotated into the room to hear Quaglia's presentation about the animals and to pose questions.

The students were delighted to see the adorable Chewie. When Quaglia asked them to inspect their arms, the youngsters were informed that whereas humans have one hair per follicle, chinchillas have 60 hairs.

The children received a treat when they were offered the chance to pet Chewie at the end of the presentation.

When Rex was taken out, a few of the students were wary of the snake.

One child asked if Rex was poisonous. Quaglia laughed as she assured the children that the kingsnake was not venomous and that she would be in a lot of trouble if she brought such a snake into their school.

The students in Laura Rubin's class surprised the knowledgeable zoo employee by posing questions about the snake's vertebrae and the placement of disks throughout the snake's back. It was explained that the children had recently learned about animals.

Rubin said the timing of the Philadelphia Zoo program right after those lessons was great.

When Rex was returned to a cooler that served as his mode of transportation, the pupils were amazed to learn that the sealed cooler actually held enough air to last the snake for up to two hours.

The children eagerly volunteered when Quaglia gave them the chance to stretch out the skin of a Burmese python. It took about 12 students to fully stretch out the skin, much to the surprise to those in the audience. Quaglia assured the children that snakes, even of that size, do not eat humans.

Needles brought laughter as she was determined to get her snack that Quaglia was holding. Students were excited as most had never seen a porcupine in such close proximity before. The porcupine has more than 30,000 quills, the presenter told those assembled, and she had the students clench a fist to show how the muscle tightens to make the quills stand.

When Quaglia explained that porcupines are rodents, she asked the students what they thought she would eat. One student offered the suggestion of garbage, but Quaglia laughed and told them Needles' favorite food is tree bark.

Upon hearing Maya's chirping as Quaglia was trying to coax her from her cage, the children guessed at what type of bird Maya might be.

The owl showed off by demonstrating her ability to rotate her head close to 270 degrees. She startled the children and a few teachers when she began to bait, or fly, a bit on a leash.

Diamante's students said Chewie the chinchilla was their favorite of the animals present that day. They all eagerly spoke about how much they enjoyed the program, especially getting to pet Chewie.

Later in the day an additional assembly was held for the children. That assembly was dubbed "Who's Who at the Zoo."

The grant provided by the Marlboro Educational Foundation is among 53 grants totaling about $55,000 awarded by the foundation this year, according to Chairwoman Lisa Naboulsi.

The Marlboro Educational Foundation was founded in 2000 and is a private, nonprofit organization that operates independently from the school district. It is made up of Marlboro residents and business people dedicated to raising funds for innovative and creative programs that are not covered in the general school budget.

Four new trustees have recently been elected to the foundation, Naboulsi said. Beth Moore, Gail Puleo, Erinn Como and Selika Gore will now be working with the foundation.