Dogs Rule at Stepping Stones Museum for Children with Mutt-i-grees Adoption Expo
If you enjoy the powerful social and emotional benefits of the human bond with animals, head to Stepping Stones Museum for Children for the Mutt-i-grees Adoption Expo on Sunday, April 30 from 10 am to 12 pm.
Hosted by members of the museum’s Youth Enrichment at Stepping Stones (YES2) volunteers, Norwalk PAWS animal shelter and Stamford’s Lucky Dog Refuge, families and children will learn about the many ways adoption benefits communities. The expo will feature meet and greets with museum mascot BooZoo™, who champions early childhood learning and literacy, plus a special Mutt-i-grees program, Crazy Canine Contests, giveaways from local vendors, homemade pup treats and so much more.
Stepping Stones is celebrating its work with the Mutt-i-grees® Curriculum, which is a unique PreK – Grade 12 program that uses the natural affinity between children and animals to enhance their social and emotional skills while promoting respect and appreciation for shelter pets.
“Animals teach children important social and emotional skills such as effective communication, empathy and how to manage emotions. The Mutt-i-grees Adoption Expo is a fun-filled event that promotes emotional intelligence, pet-friendly play, early childhood development, reading literacy and intergenerational learning between children, parents and caregivers,” said Rhonda Kiest, President and Chief Executive Officer.
An initiative of The Pet Savers Foundation™, Inc. (the program development arm of North Shore Animal League America), the Curriculum was developed by Yale University’s School of the 21st Century. Stepping Stones is unique in that it has adapted the Curriculum to its museum setting and the daily variety of children that it serves. The museum is proud to have been designated a National Demonstration Site for Mutt-i-grees and proud to note that three of its YES2 teen volunteers served as National Mutt-i-grees Student Ambassadors during the past academic year.
Stepping Stones partners with local animal shelters, including Norwalk PAWS, Lucky Dog Refuge and North Shore Animal League to provide twice weekly Mutt-i-grees programming at the museum on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 1 pm. During the program, children get to enjoy a book about dogs and learn how to safely meet a dog brought into the museum for these sessions.