General Information
Please check the links below for answers to frequently asked
questions about Open House.
Q: Do I need to register for Open
House?
Q: How much does it cost?
Q: What can I expect to see at Open
House?
Q: Can I bring my dog to Open
House?
Q: Who is Open House for? Am I too
old?
Q: What should I bring to Open
House?
Q: Why are some of the lines so
long?
Q: What is "Fast Paws"?
Q: How do I get to College Station,
TX?
Q: Where do I park?
Q: What is Teddy Bear
Surgery?
Q: What is a fistulated
cow?
Q: What can I do at Open
House?
Q: Can I purchase any
souvenirs?
Q: My daughter/son is interested in
vet school. How can they find out more about the
requirements?
Q: Can I bring other family
members?
Q: Can I get a tour guide for my
group at Open House?
Q: Why is Open House only one day
when it's so popular?
Q: Can I get more information about
the 4H Vet Science program?
Q: Do I need to register for Open House?
A: No registration or reservation is necessary, just show up on
Saturday at your convenience and enjoy your visit to the A&M
College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences!
Q: How much does it cost?
A: Nothing! Open House admission and participation is free all
day to anyone and everyone (except registered Scouts; please see
associated pages for details). There will be concession stands to
purchase snacks (cash only), with all proceeds benefitting
the first year veterinary school class. You can also purchase
souvenirs at the Gift Shop, which is run by the various student
organizations. All profits go to the student organizations. The
gift shop will accept credit cards, however, you will move through
the line much quicker with cash or check!
Q: What can I expect to see at Open House?
A: We have many great exhibits and events planned for this year!
Please see our Schedule of Events page for more
details! It will be updated as more information becomes
available!
Q: Can I bring my pet to Open House?
A: There will be plenty of animals for you to see and interact
with at Open House, so please leave your pet at home! With so many
unfamiliar people and animals in a relatively small area, we cannot
allow personal pets on the premises due to liability. Thank you for
your understanding! Please remember that no animal may remain in an
unattended vehicle at any time.
Q: Who is Open House for? Am I too old?
A: Absolutely not! Open House is put on for anyone, and there is
something for everyone! There are exhibits throughout the hospitals
if you're interested in seeing what happens behind closed doors at
your pet's vet clinic. Everything is presented at various levels to
incorporate young and old whether you're familiar with what you're
seeing or not. For the youngsters, Teddy Bear
Surgery is very popular! The presentations put on throughout
the day are designed to appeal to all ages and audiences. There is
a traditional petting zoo as well an entire room of reptiles and
exotics (ZEW room) to look at, touch, or hold! Open House also
features many non-profit organizations and rescues for many types
of animals. If you're in high school or college and are interested
in vet school, I would highly recommend the two vet school Q&A
sessions! Entire families come to Open House all the time and
everyone has a great time!
Q: What should I bring to Open House?
A: Bring comfortable walking shoes as the vet school complex is
quite large, and you may have to wait in line for some exhibits. It
may get hot, so bring water or cash to purchase some from our
concession stands. If it looks like it might rain, Open House will
go on, so bring an umbrella! If you would like souvenirs, bring
money for the Gift Shop (cash or check will make the process
faster).
Q: Why are some of the lines so long?
A: As a free event involving animals, we often get big crowds at
Vet School Open House. The two clinic tours, ZEW room and Teddy
Bear Surgery can often have long waiting lines. We are always
trying to make improvements to reduce the wait, but please be
patient. Each of the lines has a suggested time by which to
be in line during the afternoon in order to make sure you and your
guests will be able to participate in that event before 4pm.
The Small Animal Clinic is also using a "Fast Paws" system
much like "Fast Passes" at amusement parks to help reduce wait
times. In the morning, you can get a pass for a designated time and
skip the line later in the day.
Q: What is "Fast Paws"?
A: Because the line can be long for the Small Animal Clinic
Tour, we have implented a new "Fast Paws" system, similar to "fast
passes" at amusement parks. At 9am & 11:30am, we will hand out
a limited number of Fast Paws passes at the designated distribution
site next to the entrance to the Small Animal Clinic. Pick up one
of these passes with a specified time stamp for later in the day.
Then, you can go enjoy the other activities of Open House until the
time on your ticket. At 5 minutes before your ticket time, simply
return to the Small Animal Clinic to skip the line and go directly
on your tour! Look for the pawprint on the map.
Q: How do I get to College Station, TX?
A: See our Directions and Parking
page
Q: Where do I park?
A: Parking maps will be available
online and signs directing you to Open House reserved lots will be
in place on the day of the event. Please pay attention to where you
park because it is a university and campus police will ticket or
tow you if you are parked in a permit-only lot without a permit. We
are not responsible and have no power to do anything about parking
tickets or being towed!
Q: What is Teddy Bear Surgery?
A: Teddy Bear Surgery is always a favorite with Open House
attendees. Participants will don a gown, mask, gloves, caps, and
shoe covers and enter a real surgery suite to perform surgery on a
stuffed animal of their choice - you can bring your own or purchase
one at the event. The "surgeons" decide what procedure will be
performed and are assisted by veterinary student surgeons. This is
a very popular event and the line can get very long, possibly
hours! We have moved Teddy Bear Surgery into a bigger, real surgery
suite to try to reduce the wait so please be patient with us.
Q: What is a fistulated cow?
A: Fistulated cows have a surigcally-created hole in their side
and stomach wall that has healed (kind of like a big ear piercing)
that gives vets access to the contents of their complex stomach.
The hole is plugged when not in use, but it allows access to the
ruminant's digestion contents. Cows are considered ruminants,
which means that they have a very different digestive system than
humans; with access to their stomach compartments, people can learn
about and research ruminant digestion without sticking tubes down
the animal's throat, which can be stressful and traumatic for the
cow. The stomach contents of healthy cows can also be transplanted
into a sick cow that has damaged its own stomach flora, thereby
enabling the sick cow to digest its food again. Just like a human
blood donor is important in a hospital, our fistulated cows serve a
very important role in our veterinary hospital as donors of healthy
digestive fluid! Other than the fistula (hole), the cows are
completely normal and aren't bothered by it! They live normal lives
and have even had calves without any complications. At Open House,
you can actually put on a glove and reach into the stomach of a
live, healthy cow and see what it's like! This will absolutely NOT
hurt the cow in any way! Both of our fistulated cows live very
happy healthy lives :)
Q: What can I do at Open House?
A: There are so many events and exhibits at Open House for
people of all ages! Keep checking back on the Schedule of
Events page for more information!
Q: Can I purchase any souvenirs?
A: There will be a Gift Shop run and stocked by the student
organizations at Open House with a varied selection of vet school
memorabilia for sale. All profits go to the student organizations.
You can make your purchases by cash, check, or credit card the day
of the event (cash or check will make the process quicker).
Q: My daughter/son is interested in vet school. How can they
find out more about the requirements?
A: There will be a vet school Q&A with the admissions
committee and a vet student panel at Open House to answer all your
questions. Check the schedule of events page for their
scheduled time. Also, this is an event put on entirely by vet
students to educate people about what veterinary medicine is all
about. Find someone in a green t-shirt and ask away--we love to
talk about vet school!
Q: Can I bring family members and friends?
A: Yes! You can bring as many people as you would like to Open
House! We'd love to have them!
Q: Can I get a tour guide for my group at Open House?
A: Open House is one giant tour to show you more than you would
normally get to see! Unfortunately, all of our student volunteers
who would normally be the tour guides will be busy manning the many
exhibits and events and won't be able to offer individual tours
during that time.
Q: Why is Open House only one day when it's so popular?
A: Unfortunately, as a student-run non-profit organization we
simply do not have the resources or volunteers necessary to make
this event more than one day. As you will see by the extensive
hospital tours, this event does basically incapacitate our ability
to take in very many patients. The hospitals cannot be out of
commission for any longer than one day. The students involved in
planning and staffing this event work extremely hard and while we
would love to be able to make Open House a two-day event, it is
simply impossible. Thank you for your understanding.
Q: Can I get more information about the 4H Vet Science
program?
While the 4H Vet Science Program has had sessions the night
before Open House in the past, they are two completely separate
events. Open House does not have any information on this program,
please contact the Ag Extension Service for more information. http://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/
Don't see your question answered? Email us and
we will do our best to help you out. Please be patient for a
response as we are students and do have exams and other assignments
to complete in addition to planning this event. Thanks so much for
your interest and we look forward to seeing you on April 20,
2013!