A Surprising Substitute

By C.J. Hirschfield

A couple of weeks ago, Fairyland’s education director and animal caretaker were all set to visit East Oakland’s Markham Elementary School as part of Science Alive!, our life-sciences outreach program, when disaster struck. Melissa Tauber, who is charged with caring for the park’s 20-plus animals, came down sick—the first sick day she’s ever taken.

What to do? We had two kindergarten classes that were expecting a very special day, and the show had to go on.

Up stepped Nick Mitchell, Fairyland’s facilities manager.

Nick Mitchell and his son, Axel.

Allow me to backtrack and explain. Fairyland’s animals and gardens provide natural ways to connect urban children to life sciences, and our Science Alive! helps make that connection. Last year, we introduced more than 700 Oakland Unified School District kindergarten and first-grade students to the program, which includes a visit to the classroom with a few of our smaller animals and some sample plants, followed by a field trip with chartered bus transportation. We also give the students free tickets to to Fairyland so they can return with family members.

As for Nick – well, at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he doesn’t look like your typical kindergarten teacher. Nick came to Fairyland after many years of running his own construction company; he now uses his numerous talents to ensure that our park is safe and shining. But Nick has also performed stand-up bass for decades, playing everything from rockabilly to rock and roll. So when he found out at short notice that he’d have to learn “Live/Not Alive,” a song about how to tell whether something is or isn’t alive, he figured it wouldn’t be much of a stretch.

A class of kindergartners, on the other hand, was not his customary audience.

On the car ride over, Nick learned the song from our education director, Teresa DeBerry, who was convinced that Nick could do the job. They were accompanied by Cal, one of our extremely cute guinea pigs, who would be the life of the party.

Fairyland's guinea pigs, Cal and Rosie.

Afterward, we asked Nick for a report.

In a word: “Fantastic.” He loved being surrounded by bright-eyed kids who were delighted by their visit. “They just want to take everything in,” he said.

He added that it wasn’t only the kindergartners who learned something that day: Nick said he learned about how much Fairyland touches our community. And he gained a new appreciation for what Fairyland does to serve Oakland’s kids. “I knew that we paid for buses to bring the kids to the park,”he said, “but I had no idea that we also gave them passes to come back again with their families. That’s a huge thing for them!”

Teresa says that Nick’s size didn’t intimidate the kids at all. “He’s Nick,” she said, smiling – a reference to his kid-like nature. “He puts his personality into it, and the kids immediately know he has something good to share.”

Teresa DeBarry with transitional-kindergartners and Fairyland donkeys.

By the time they reached the second classroom of the day, Nick had nailed the song, and he was able to incorporate some cool moves to go with it.

Nick had to get small when he held Cal and let the kids gently touch the animal. “All the kids were so into it!” he said, obviously impressed.

Last year Nick and his wife Amy welcomed their first child, Axel, and thanks to him Nick says he now sees Fairyland from a child’s perspective. “I sing and dance to my kid every day,” he says.

When Nick performs gigs at night, his favorite song is Willie Nelson’s “I Gotta Get Drunk.” We wanted to know: Now that “Live/Not Alive” is part of his repertoire, would he consider performing it again for the kids?

“Absolutely,” says our wonderful, multitalented substitute teacher.

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 15 years as executive director of Children's Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation's first storybook theme park.