Andria Heath of Utica Zoo to do Dirty Job During Grossology Weekend

 In honor of their upcoming Grossology Weekend, Utica Zoo’s Executive Director, Andria Heath, will be participating in a dirty job from 1 pm to 2 pm on Saturday, August 22^nd. The zoo’s Bactrian camel, Furlow, will relinquish his private yard for Andria to clean during that hour. Zoo guests are encouraged to visit the exhibit and witness the taxing and dirty work required to care for exotic animals. 

“When our event planning team presented me with the idea to do a dirty job, I was thrilled. This is such a fun way to encourage visitors to come in honor of the weekend and truly appreciate the hard work it takes to operate a four-season zoo”, says Andria. 

Grossology Weekend at Utica Zoo on August 22^nd and 23^rd is dedicated to educating about all things gross; poop, insects, veterinary medicine, and more. Activities offered throughout both days include: 

• A ‘Scatvenger Hunt’: Use your detective skills to determine what poop belongs to which animal based on its size, shape, color, and consistency!
•  ‘VetMed Museum’: Learn how veterinary professionals do manual fecal flotations and what wildlife intestinal parasites look like!
• Throwing your hand at ‘Turd Toss’.
• Special appearances by ambassador insects: watch our Madagascar hissing cockroaches devour rotting food. 
• A poop matching game station to learn about the different types of animal feces.
• Keeper talks throughout the day, specifically aimed at educating about poop or other gross animal activities.
• Storytimes read by our education department or docents about poo at 10:30 am and 2:30 pm.
• Polly’s Concessions with dirt and worms sundae!