The Davidson County Community College Zoo and Aquarium Science Club will offer fourth-graders in the Lexington City Schools an "Animal Encounter" on Friday as part of the club's Service Learning Projects Initiative.

DCCC Zoo and Aquarium Science students will work with staff from exotic animal facilities so Lexington's fourth-graders may experience educational and exciting animal encounters at no cost. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon in the DCCC Conference Center, and animals will include small mammals, reptiles and exotic birds.

"Our club members are able to bridge the gap between fourth-grade academic course material and how that material relates to the environment by using live animals to display those relationships," said Jessica Culbertson, education committee chairwoman for the DCCC Zoo and Aquarium Science Club.