Special thanks to Jen Rudolph from The Roger Williams Zoo for coming to our Playmaking class last week to teach us all about endangered species. We learned about why certain animals become endangered, or even extinct, and what we can do to prevent it. We learned about habitat destruction and missing links in the food chain, and we learned about the good work that the Zoo is doing to protect animals.

But perhaps the most exciting part of the day was when Chris Hitchener from the Children’s Zoo brought in a radiated tortoise, a eastern box turtle and a black footed ferret for the kids to see up close and even touch – carefully, with two fingers on the animals’ backs.

Finally we asked each child to choose one of the endangered animals we learned about to be one of their characters in the play that they will write, and to draw a picture of that animal, which we’ll using to create the show posters later this month! So keep your eyes peeled for a red panda and a white cheeked gibbon announcing Manton Ave’s next show: Why No Rhino? the endangered species plays, written by this amazing group of first-time playwrights. We look forward to seeing you at the shows in March!