Dr. Bechtel visits Cresco with Snakes, Poison Dart Frogs and more
Thu, 06/27/2024 - 10:11am
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By:
Paige Lucas TPD Editor
CRESCO - Dr. Bechtel, a professor at Wartburg college, taught eager, young students at the Cresco Public Library about exotic animals and showcased snakes, cockroaches, scorpions, turtles, tortoises, and more.
Dr. Bechtel graduated from Wartburg in 1994, and has been sharing his love of nature and animals ever since. He taught high school and college level science classes, and introduced animals into the classroom early on. Dr. Bechtel has received awards throughout his career, including awards from the Kennedy Center /Stephen Sondheim (’16), Chellevold (’15), Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers (’13), Gustav Ohaus (’12), WKBT (’10), Horace Mann (’09), Central High School (’08), Wartburg College (’07), Saydel High School (’02, ’01, ’00, ’99, ’98), and Iowa Academy of the Sciences (’00) for teaching performance and interactive lesson planning.
Jordyn Moore, Director of the Cresco Public Library attended Wartburg College, and had Dr. Bechtel as a professor. She “loved having him as (her) teacher,” and felt that he was “charismatic” and easy to learn from. The Cresco library was looking to find a way to bring animals into the library that was cost effective, safe for the animals, and entertaining for kids. Moore decided to reach out to her former professor, and asked if he would be interested in doing a small presentation for the library. In 2022, Dr. Bechtel made his first appearance, setting off an impressive chain of events that has spread to libraries all over the state.
This past year, over 200 kids attended Dr. Bechtel’s program, with many traveling from towns nearby. Attendees got to hold snakes, look at all types of bugs, and hear the adventures of Dr. Bechtel as he recounted his trips to Peru, Germany, and other exotic places.
Dr. Bechtel only does his program during the summer, as he teaches full time at Wartburg during school year. As his popularity has increased, he has had to “turn libraries away” or “do two programs at the same library on the same day” to accomodate space and time. He travels all summer, and tries to teach as many kids as possible.
