Kindergarten students on the Bolles Lower School Whitehurst Campus have been studying dinosaurs. This week, they had the opportunity to actually meet one.

Prior to their morning workshops in the K-Cove outdoor learning area, students donned handmade grocery bag safari vests and trekked over and up to the Treehouse Outdoor Learning Center. There, they were met by upper school students from Kelly Cullen’s Photography III class who outfitted them with pith helmets, binoculars – and a special surprise.

The photography students are working on a collaborative project based on a movie of their choosing, “Jurassic Park.” Part of their assignment is to work together to create a body of work inspired by the movie. Of course, their vision included the use of a favorite new Cullen prop, a blow up dinosaur costume.

Imagine the Kindergartners’ surprise to see a “live” dinosaur tromping across the playground, up the stairs and into the Treehouse. It was a Jurassic experience indeed. Students enjoyed photos with the T-Rex before sliding down the slide back to K-Cove, where they enjoyed practicing excavation skills in the sand and experiencing new learning adventures. The T-Rex and his upper school friends slid back to class on the nearby Bolles Upper School San Jose Campus.

Peer-to-peer learning is one of Bolles’ greatest strengths with 1,600 students in grades Pre-K through 12 interacting together almost daily.

“It was fun, and I hope we can do more with lower school in the future,” Cullen said. “My students had fun seeing the excitement of the little ones.”

For more photos from the dinosaur visit to Kindergarten and the subsequent K Cove activities, visit our online photo gallery.