Caroline Wells, 10, from left, and Claire Scarbrough, 11, work on their human skeleton designs during a nursing class. 

Meridian Community College looked less like a school and more like a farm Thursday as the annual College for Kids program was in full swing. 

“This program allows us to expose our young community members to the value of education,” said Brandon Deweese, the Associate Dean of Student Engagement. “It is a highly engaging form of education so they can become familiar with the MCC campus.

“We have classes ranging from everything to the junior police academy, to jewelry just for fun, all about animals, and playing with clay, we got it all,” Deweese added, noting that this summer, nearly 600 students registered for a variety of classes.

Camryn Hansford, a second grader, was one of the students having fun at the petting zoo. 

“One thing is I love animals,” she said. “It’s just fun being able to hold and play with them.”

Hansford was especially fond of the lambs.

“They are gentle, and they don’t bite,” she said. “They do kick sometimes, but I do like the three horns.” 

Instructor Angie Hales said she enjoyed the experience of teaching the kids about different animals and the proper way to care for them.

“I want kids to learn how to treat animals and because that will carry over to how they treat people,” Hayles said.

Deweese said he believes the hands-on experience keeps the children engaged the most.

“It’s tough to compete with live animals and horses,” he said. “We had an ambulance out here yesterday, and it was just fantastic to see the excitement from the kids.”