{"id":113389,"date":"2024-07-18T02:02:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T07:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=113389"},"modified":"2024-08-23T08:18:11","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T13:18:11","slug":"call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/","title":{"rendered":"Call of the wild captivates Camp Munroe"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Oohs, awws and a few shrieks echoed through the Munroe-Meyer Institute\u2019s gymnasium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A hedgehog, kangaroo and ball python drew the gasps, with the kangaroo getting the biggest response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trio \u2014 and a few other critters \u2014 visited MMI recently during a session of Camp Munroe, MMI\u2019s recreational day camp for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During each one-week session, campers \u2014 who range in age between 3 and 21 \u2014 take part in activities such as swimming, dancing, art, cooking and games. Special guests, like the visit from animals at Wildlife Encounters come once a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The camp, in its 42nd<\/sup> year, serves more than 230 attendees over seven weeks. Campers get to bond with each other, but also with recreational therapy staff and volunteers, said Kamisha Duncan, adaptive therapy specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Camp Munroe’s Wildlife Encounters event is one of the favorite camp activities every year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Campers were able to gently pet each animal, including this hedgehog.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Adaptive therapy specialist Kamisha Duncan assembled this year\u2019s entertainment schedule, which also includes Kona Ice and a dinosaur presentation. Seeing smiles on campers\u2019 faces during those sessions is a highlight for MMI volunteers and staff, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so much fun, and there\u2019s so much joy,\u201d Duncan said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
A young kanagaroo proved a crowd-pleaser at the event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Wildlife Encounters is always a crowd favorite, MMI camp organizers said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the group\u2019s most recent visit, campers were able to gently pet each animal, as Wildlife Encounters spokeswoman Barb Whittamore carried them around the gym. Whittamore shared fun facts about each animal and answered questions from campers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campers eagerly greeted each new visitor. \u201cHi, Biscuit!\u201d they shouted as Whittamore brought out an armadillo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some opted not to touch the animals, politely saying \u201cNo, thank you,\u201d as Whittamore approached. The ball python, Lily, drew a number of grimaces and nervous looks as the braver campers ran two fingers down her back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tortilla, the tortoise, drew some initial concern: Was she was a snapping turtle? But the relaxed reptile went on to draw big smiles while campers reached for her shell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whittamore said her job is incredible, in part because of events like Camp Munroe. MMI campers and other audiences usually can only see some of these animals on TV, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a blessing that we get to have these ambassador animals,\u201d she said. \u201cWe get to let campers get up close and personal and offer that sensory feeling. I love that I get the chance to give the campers some joy.\u201d<\/p>\nPxR w uckkx qi<\/a><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wildlife Encounters visits MMI’s summer camp for children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":113458,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"78131,21548,107363,53278,102464,70564","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-community","department-munroe-meyer-institute","department-unmc-today-todays-headlines","author_override-kelsey-kirk-unmc-strategic-communications"],"yoast_head":"\nCall of the wild captivates Camp Munroe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wildlife Encounters visits MMI's summer camp for children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Call of the wild captivates Camp Munroe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wildlife Encounters visits MMI's summer camp for children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-18T07:02:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-23T13:18:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Armadillo071724-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Keenan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@unmc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@unmc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Keenan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"John Keenan\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/59c9598a54f1a531c30cccc1d010ac17\"},\"headline\":\"Call of the wild captivates Camp Munroe\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-18T07:02:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-23T13:18:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/\"},\"wordCount\":427,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Armadillo071724-1.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/\",\"name\":\"Call of the wild captivates Camp Munroe\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Armadillo071724-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-18T07:02:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-23T13:18:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"Wildlife Encounters visits MMI's summer camp for children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Armadillo071724-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Armadillo071724-1.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1280,\"caption\":\"Wildlife Encounters visited the Monroe-Meyer Institute and brought animals to entertain Camp Monroe attendees Thursday July 11, 2024.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Call of the wild captivates Camp Munroe\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/\",\"name\":\"Newsroom\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization\",\"name\":\"University of Nebraska Medical Center\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/overview-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/overview-1.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":153,\"caption\":\"University of Nebraska Medical Center\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/unmc\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/iamunmc\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/UNMCEDU\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/59c9598a54f1a531c30cccc1d010ac17\",\"name\":\"John Keenan\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/02e74f10e0327ad868d138f2b4fdd6f0\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Call of the wild captivates Camp Munroe","description":"Wildlife Encounters visits MMI's summer camp for children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Call of the wild captivates Camp Munroe","og_description":"Wildlife Encounters visits MMI's summer camp for children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/","og_site_name":"Newsroom","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu","article_published_time":"2024-07-18T07:02:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-08-23T13:18:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Armadillo071724-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"John Keenan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@unmc","twitter_site":"@unmc","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Keenan","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/"},"author":{"name":"John Keenan","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/59c9598a54f1a531c30cccc1d010ac17"},"headline":"Call of the wild captivates Camp Munroe","datePublished":"2024-07-18T07:02:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-23T13:18:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/"},"wordCount":427,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Armadillo071724-1.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/","name":"Call of the wild captivates Camp Munroe","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Armadillo071724-1.jpg","datePublished":"2024-07-18T07:02:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-23T13:18:11+00:00","description":"Wildlife Encounters visits MMI's summer camp for children and young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Armadillo071724-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Armadillo071724-1.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"caption":"Wildlife Encounters visited the Monroe-Meyer Institute and brought animals to entertain Camp Monroe attendees Thursday July 11, 2024."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/07\/18\/call-of-the-wild-captivates-camp-munroe\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Call of the wild captivates Camp Munroe"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/","name":"Newsroom","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#organization","name":"University of Nebraska Medical Center","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/overview-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/overview-1.png","width":500,"height":153,"caption":"University of Nebraska Medical Center"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/unmcedu","https:\/\/x.com\/unmc","https:\/\/instagram.com\/iamunmc","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/UNMCEDU"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/59c9598a54f1a531c30cccc1d010ac17","name":"John Keenan","url":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/author\/02e74f10e0327ad868d138f2b4fdd6f0\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113389"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113466,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113389\/revisions\/113466"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}