Pittsburgh Penguin Visits Youth Group

It wasn’t Sidney Crosby who created a stir at the Chartiers Boys & Girls Club, but rather a South African penguin that enthralled the kids.

Trainers from the National Aviary in Pittsburgh brought Simon to the youth facility in Carnegie so students could learn a little more about penguins and the aviary.

The kids sat behind a long slice of masking tape and patiently raised their hands to ask questions about Simon. Their inquiries ranged from why he had a name band slapped around his right wing to how trainers know when a penguin is about to lay an egg.

St. Clair Hospital has a relationship with the National Aviary and donated the event to the Chartiers Boys & Girls Club, which serves students from the Chartiers Valley and Carlynton school districts. The children did not know they would be treated to the half-hour presentation until they walked into the facility Friday afternoon.

“We wanted this to be a surprise,” said Danielle Bauer, executive director of the Chartiers branch. “We told them they had to be quiet, but you could see the excitement.”

But there was plenty of laughter and commotion as 4-year-old Simon waddled back and forth on the table following his trainer, Jenise Brown, the education coordinator at the Aviary.

One child asked if they would be able to pet Simon, but Brown told them that birds don’t like to be touched as much as other animals. That was illustrated when Brown picked up Simon and the penguin started snapping at its trainer, creating quite a stir among the kids in the gym.

Bauer praised the donation and said there was no doubt the kids learned a lot from the presentation.

“We’re very appreciative,” Bauer said.