Michaelangelo glared from across the room. Leonardo rolled around slightly on the table. Donatello had lost his head and Raphael was nowhere to be seen.
No, we’re not talking about a new display at a local museum. We’re talking about right here in Clarkston at the Oakland Technical Center. Oh, and just to be clear, we’re talking about turtles, not painters.
Students in Kris Miner’s Visual Imaging/Advertising Design class at the technical center have once again been creating a display for the annual Detroit Zoo celebration Zoo Boo. This year the creative youngsters decided to feature those wild and wacky cartoons The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
‘The kids love doing this,? said Miner. ‘They have a good time. They get stressed, especially at the deadline, but they enjoy it.?
Zoo Boo is the Detroit Zoo’s annual Halloween event where children are encouraged to trick-or-treat along a half-mile decorated trail in a ‘merry-not-scary? atmosphere. The event is sponsored by Farmer Jack and is geared towards children ages 2-7, or those still a child at heart.
Miner’s classes, with the help of Instructional Technician Ryan Rottach, have been creating displays for the big event for the past nine years. Everything began when Detroit Zoo organizers contacted Miner and asked if her classes would be interested in the challenge.
‘The first year we did Nightmare Before Christmas and they loved it,? remembered Miner. ‘The kids have fun and they get to work together.?
The students use blue insulating foam, pumpkins and gourds to create their displays. Many of the materials they work with are actual set design quality. According to Miner, the work fulfills several points in the curriculum and teaches the students some important lessons on cooperation, deadlines and using creativity within limitations.
‘They learn about working in teams and groups, working with other people and knowing that things won’t always go the way they want,? said Miner.
‘We did a lot of hard work,? said Jeremy Vandekerckhove, a twelfth grader. ‘We had to carve the foam to shape it and then shave it off.?
More than 15 students, spread across two classroom sessions, worked in two and a half hour blocks to complete the display in two weeks.
‘The best part was getting to design something from scratch, creating something was exciting,? said Libbi Murphy, also a senior.
‘The hardest part was making everything symmetrical,? added Vandekerckhove.
After putting the finishing touches on their display and posing for photos, the students had one more point to add.
‘Go see it,? said an excited Murphy. ‘We put a lot of hard work into it.?
The students set up their displays at Zoo Boo on Oct. 15. In addition to the turtles, they are also displaying the Nightmare Before Christmas for a second year.
Zoo Boo is $5 per person and runs every weekend on Oct. 15-31. Tickets are available for the following times each evening: 6, 6:30, 7, 7:30 and 8 p.m. Tickets are available at the front of the zoo or through Ticketmaster, 248-645-6666.