ROSE CREEK — Austin Olivares’ eyes widened as a gray rat snake was lifted out of a tank.

Affectionately named “Bessie,” Justin Holten—an environmental educator for WisCorps and The Critter Mobile — carefully placed the snake into the second grader’s hands in frontal view of about 30 fellow students in the Southland Elementary School gymnasium on Monday morning.

“What does Bessie feel like?” Holten asked Olivares. “Cold? Warm? Slimy?” To which, Oliveras shared that Bessie was a soft critter. Not the least bit slimy and rather heavy to hold.

“Does Bessie bite?” Olivares inquired. Holten reassured the young boy that no, a rat snake wouldn’t bite a human. Plus, people were too big for these kinds of snakes to eat and that rat snakes typically ate smaller rodents and inhabited trees. Sometimes, they eat bird eggs and were harmless to people. Bessie was also “cuddly” and would wrap herself around anything that generated warmth, Holten added.

The Critter Mobile brought some familiar creatures — both slimy and crawly — into view for students to see up close and personal. Holten relished the children’s reactions to some of their animals, as well as their polite and gentle interactions with petting Bessie and even Max, the cockroach. Some motioned to “pass” on petting cockroaches, but were still entertained.

“All the groups were respectful,” Holten expressed. “These (reactions) are the best thing.”

Huddled into groups, the students also giggled at the silly movements that Paul Blazevich — WisCorps environmental educator — mimed to simulate animal movement. Monday’s lesson was to understand how different creatures moved in accordance with their natural habitats: the slow marching of an ornate box turtle; the slithering movements of a gray rat snake; a hopping motion of tree frogs and more.

This was the first time that WisCorps and its Critter Mobile, made a stop at Southland Elementary  School. Their mission was to provide traveling environmental education programs for classrooms as well as introducing younger students to native animals that may live in the wilderness around them, according to Blazevich.

Such opportunities, were considered precious in educating future generations about protecting their “critter” friends.

“We’re trying to introduce students earlier, and they tend to be more passionate (about the environment),” Blazevich said. “We’re doing outreach in telling people in school why (environmental education) is so important. We want to come to them.”