The College of Veterinary Medicine will hold their annual open house on April 24, 2010, from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m., on the front lawn of their facilities. The student-organized event is free and open to the public.

The open house usually has a good turn out of young children, but this year they want to reach a larger audience, especially future students interested in applying to vet school. Starting in 2011, the College of Veterinary Medicine will admit 120 students to the program instead of the 90 students currently being accepted.

Dr. Ray Wilhite, event coordinator, is attempting to increase the number of high school students from across the state to come and participate in the event because of the new acceptance numbers to the college.

"We're trying to get more high school kids fixing to come into college to come to open house and see what veterinary medicine is all about," Wilhite said.

Many events will take place throughout the day geared towards education and awareness of the world's unique animals and how big of an impact veterinary medicine has on these creatures. There will kids activities, demonstrations and exhibits and one lecture.

"Ideally there is something for everyone," Wilhite said.

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Six vet students are head of six large committees to organize and help run the open house. These large committees are broken down into smaller groups, run by more vet students, who then focus on each exhibit. Students are in charge of collecting event materials and content as well as setting up and taking down exhibit. On average, first and second year vet school students contribute hours of their personal time to help with the open house. The public will also get to see what goes on inside of the school and go where you most people are not normally allowed.

Facility sneak peaks are to show people what really goes on inside without all of the glitz and glamour. The anatomy lab, where dissections occur, has been one of the rooms people find interesting in the past.

For children there are an array of activities. There is a Paleontology dig to discover and identify buried bones, teddy bear surgery, petting zoo and a scavenger hunt. The entire family can enjoy a show put on by the raptor center and parades of breeds for dogs, horses and cows.

There will be educational demonstrations on CPR, exotic pets, skeletons and ultrasound demonstrations among other things.

And for high school students who desire to become veterinarians, a lecture will be held to discuss admission requirements and career opportunities involving animal sciences.