Biology Club President Sabah Shrinzada and Vice President Andrew Mason are trying to bring something different to the children attending Boo Central this year: an interest in biology.

Boo Central is a Halloween event, where clubs set up booths with activities and pass out candy to the children that attend.

“It’s a fun way for students and family to trick-or-treat on a college campus,” Jennifer Nelson, senior early education major and event planner for Boo Central, said. “It’s a safe and warm environment, and it’s nice for parents to just be able to come here and not worry.”

Every year, The Biology Club has displayed several reptiles and allowed children to handle them. This year, the club added a corn snake, red-tailed boa and a  ball python to their collection.

In addition to the reptiles, Shrinzada and Mason plan on handing out plants called brassica, or “fast plants,” to the trick-or-treaters. Brassica plants are small, long-stemmed plants that produce yellow flowers and have a short growth cycle.

“They’re small plants, easy to take care of,” Mason, senior biology major, said. “They’re not the longest-surviving plants, but they live long enough for you to see them flower, bloom, and kids get a little experience taking care of their own plant.”

According to Mason, the club’s goal is to get more kids interested in science. The Biology Club also wants to fight the stigma that snakes are dangerous and show children that not all reptiles are threatening.

“Some of those kids get really excited. They just run up to us,” Shrinzada, senior biology major, said, “But there’s still those who are shy or scared of them, and those are the kids we wanna tell ‘hey, these aren’t just scary animals, you can pet them.’”

Mason and Shrinzada believe that an early interest in science is important for children because science is an ever-growing field, yet schools may be lacking in science courses that hold children’s interest.

Mason had no interest in science until he came to Central and took Bio 181 and Chem 181, which had labs that required hands-on work.

“It really opened up new doors, and that’s one thing. Looking back in high school, it’s a huge shame that they didn’t push that,” Mason said.

Shrinzada didn’t have a strong science background before Central either, due to the fact he lived in New York City, where nature wasn’t readily available in the densely populated area.

It wasn’t until he moved to Washington that science became interesting for him.

“I want the kids here to experience what I didn’t experience as a child,” Shrinzada said.

The Biology Club occasionally gets emails from parents thanking them for letting the children hold snakes.

“We once got an email that said, ‘My kid came to your event and he wants to grow up and do biology now,’” Shrinzada said. “Those kinds of things make you feel good, like you did a good job.”

The Biology Club is also currently pushing for higher membership so that they can help out the local community with volunteer projects that include going to schools and giving lessons about the reptiles.

“When people think Biology Club, they think only bio majors,” Mason said. “You don’t have to be an actual major; you just have to have an interest.”