An impressive total of 64 people attended the Day Dreamers Program at Norma Anders Library, which was presented by Samantha Dunn and Mallory Machir of the Blank Park Zoo located in Des Moines. The program was also presented for residents, staff and friends at the Sunnycrest Nursing Center following the library program.

“We generally travel in the summertime for the summer reading programs at the library. We do all kinds of programs at senior citizen centers, preschools, and other places. Two years ago, we started traveling the whole state. It used to be a Des Moines metro-area thing that we did,” Dunn said.

The zoo educators shared interesting facts about nocturnal animals while giving the audience the opportunity to see a variety of the animals up close. The animals presented included the African pygmy hedgehog, American alligator, tiger salamander, screech owl and Virginia opossum.