From hooves to scales: Vet Fest showcases animal science at Auburn

Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (AUVCM) hosted its third annual Vet Fest on April 11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Located at their campus on Wire Road, this free, family-friendly event invites the entire Auburn community to learn and see the work of the College of Veterinary Medicine. With plenty of educational and hands-on activities, Vet Fest aims to both educate and entertain its guests.

Launched in 2024, Vet Fest was created to invite people of all ages to the AUCVM campus and showcase different aspects of veterinary medicine to the community. The event takes nearly a year to put together. Many of the workers are student volunteers from the AUCVM.

“This is one of my favorite events of the year because you get to see all the little kids' faces light up when they run around and hang out with the animals,” said Sydney Rookes, a volunteer and senior in the public and one health program. “It’s a really great opportunity for the vet school as a whole to educate the community.”

The event had four areas for guests to explore: Greene Hall, Greene Hall Circle, Greene Hall Lawn and the Veterinary Education Center (VEC).

On the Greene Hall side lawn, attendees were greeted by several different tables. The American Fisheries Society had a fishing game set up, while the Auburn University Museum of Natural History displayed various animal skulls and bones. There was also a paleontology dig with a large sand pit where children could dig up bones like a real paleontologist. Compassion Ranch, an animal sanctuary, was also there, handing out free Auburn merch.

Inside Greene Hall, volunteer workers from the Zoo, Exotics and Wildlife Club held live snakes that people could pet and interact with, as well as a frog and two ferrets. They shared fun facts about each animal with guests.

In the library, there was an art gallery made up of work by the College of Veterinary Sciences’ students, faculty and staff. There were paintings, sketches, embroidery, cross stitching and crochet, all centered on animals.

Down the hallway, the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association showcased a fish in a small tank as guests made their way into the Anatomy Lab. The lab was filled with tables of skeletal models, real animal bones, teeth and real organs that people could touch. Volunteers stood by the tables, explaining the different structures and how they work.

“I’ve talked to a couple people that want to go to vet school that are kids,” said Hallie Corte, a first-year student at the vet school and lab volunteer. "I just remember being that age and wanting to go to vet school, so it’s been really fun to see, like, me as a kid and then now where I am.”

Outside on the Greene Hall Circle, a tortoise named Bowser roamed around while excited attendees took pictures. There were also some other tables, one being AUCVM Parasitology and the Department of Pathobiology. They explained the importance of checking pets for ticks and did a painting activity involving live larvae of mosquitoes and blue bottle flies.

The AUVCM Blood Bank tent showcased several of its dog blood donors throughout the day, including Stiles and Doc. The pair donate blood to save other dogs’ lives.

On the Greene Lawn, the American Association of Equine Practitioners let people pet a horse that was painted with a diagram of its organs. Next to it, the Society for Theriogenology performed a birthing simulation activity where children lined up to help a fake cow birth a calf. There was also a petting zoo with cows, calves, goats and sheep that attendees could feed.

There were two different dog shows on the lawn, a Canine Performance Sciences Dog Demo at 10:30 a.m. and a Dog Sports Dog Demo at 11:30 a.m. Both showed off the training of these dogs, the different tricks they could do and allowed guests to ask questions.

In the VEC, the Latin Veterinary Medical Association held a Spanish bingo in one room. In another room, there was a diagnostic imaging activity. In the hallway, students for One Health did a "glo germ" activity, where they put a substance on kids' hands that made their germs glow in the dark. There were also tables of recruiters from Jeff State, Southern Union and Auburn for aspiring students who wanted more information on their programs. 

Gracie Sims, a vet student at Auburn, took her visiting family to Vet Fest.

“My family came down for the day to, like, see what I do,” Sims said. “There’s a lot of people here, and everyone’s having a lot of fun and learning and educating the public.”

Also in the VEC, AU-Bees had a case of live bees and some diagrams of the different stages of bees. Several student volunteers from the Auburn University Raptor Center posed for pictures with guests with different birds on their arms, including one of the “War” Eagles.

Upstairs, one of the most anticipated hands-on activities for guests was the Teddy Bear Surgery. Children prepared for surgery by putting on surgical garb before stepping into the "operating room" and performing a guided surgery from senior surgeons on a stuffed animal.

“I was actually [working] in teddy bear surgery this morning,” said Paige Tew, a small animal medicine floater at AUVCM. “And just seeing how excited the little kids would get when they would pull out the foreign body from the teddy bear and them getting to see it and being like, ‘why is that in there?’, that was really cool to see.”

Vet Fest ended with a “Pooch Parade” at 12:30 p.m., where staff and volunteers walked their personal dogs of all different breeds in a parade as attendees watched. Full of activities, live animals and informative presentations, Vet Fest offered the community a time to have fun and learn more about veterinary science.