The zoology club teaches students about various animals and how to correctly treat, breed, and generally appreciate animals by providing a literal hands-on experience. Members are expected to handle with care and reliably feed, clean, and otherwise maintain the animals.

The club is lead by senior Alvin Pham, and is for students who are interested in studying and taking care of animals such as geckos, fish, snakes, crickets, frogs and tarantulas.

“[The zoology club] is a hands-on thing. Usually you’re able to read in textbooks about certain concepts of biology. Here we give it a more tangible feel to it where you can see the animals, how they interact, how warm-blooded and cold-blooded works, how certain animals breed, gestation periods, et cetera,” said Pham.

The zoology club follows a monthly schedule, with specific meetings. For example, they hold a general meeting one week, bathe animals in another, and open suggestions for new features in the third.

Members meet on B days during Community Period or until 3:15 after school.

According to Pham, the benefits to joining include a further understanding of animals’ biology, anatomy, and habitats; a way to become more familiar and comfortable with animals; and joining is a great way to build friendships and a sense of teamwork.

The zoology club was established in 2013, and this year its membership is higher than ever.

Students in this club are assigned an animal to feed and occasionally clean. Currently, a duty of the members is to create a card for a species in one of the tanks, filling out taxonomic information. One of the recent activities the club has participated in was a reptile convention on September 24.

“[The best part] is the satisfaction of playing with the animals. A lot of the kids here don’t get to see animals at home, because their parents won’t let them. So they can come here to take care of the animals. There’s also the research aspect of it, which is a very big part of it, which we will be starting up very soon, which can help you get scholarships,” said Pham.