Denver Zoo offers free admission for East High School community during spring break
Of all the ways Miguel Araujl thought he would spend his spring break the Denver Zoo wasn't exactly at the top of his mind. But when he heard admission was free for students like him, he called up some of his classmates, who all agreed a visit would be a good idea.
"Because it's a whole bunch of animals, they're really cool and it's just a good distraction from reality itself," the high school senior said.
East High School junior, Anika Voskuil, joined in on the Tuesday morning visit. She said it was fun to be back someplace she hadn't been to in years.
"It's just nice to be out in nature and see all the different animals," she told CBS Colorado's anchor Kelly Werthmann. "I haven't been here since I was in elementary school, so it was really cool."
More than cool animals, staff say the Denver Zoo is a safe place for East High families to connect with nature and each other.
"You can see East High School from here," said Jake Kubié, Director of Communications for Denver Zoo. "Yet we're almost a world away in so many ways, from the problems of the world. I really think we are a physical and emotional oasis for a lot of people."
Denver Zoo is offering free admission for EHS, faculty and their immediate family through May 1.
Kubié says it's the zoo's way of standing in solidarity with the school and being a good neighbor.
"We have a lot of employees who are parents, many of whom have children at East High School. So, it was just kind of a sense of doing the right thing," he said.
And students like Miguel and Anika are grateful for the support.
"I just appreciate that there's outlets helping students cope with the actual fact that school shootings happen and there's not really anything being done to help with that," Miguel said.
"It's really a nice community in Denver," Anika agreed. "To know that we have that and they're here to support us, it means a lot."
No reservations are required for EHS students, staff and their families to visit the Denver Zoo. All they need is ID from the school.
The nearby Denver Museum of Nature & Science is also offering free admission for the East High community as well as the Denver Botanic Garden.
