Wildlife Expo Encourages Oklahomans To 'Enjoy The Outdoors'

Thousands of children and adults celebrated the outdoors this weekend at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's Wildlife Expo at the Lazy E Arena.

The expo helped some of Oklahoma's own enjoy all the state has to offer.

This pond is where many children catch their first fish.

Oklahoma Wildlife Department has hosted its Wildlife Expo here for more than a decade.

"You don't know what it is. It could be big, it could be tiny, tiny. You don't know what it could be," said Perry 5th grader Caleb Maly.

About 50,000 people were expected to explore the expo this year.

The expo gave kids and adults the chance to shoot clay pigeons, mountain bike, fish and shoot a bow,  just to name a few.

The goal is to make sure people know of all the outdoor opportunities there are in Oklahoma.

"It's fun," Maly said. 

Another goal is to get them involved in the outdoors.

"The act of hunting, the act of fishing is the very thing that supports our wildlife," said Michael Bergin with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife.

Bergin said the ODW's goal is also to give them a greater appreciation for our wildife. 

"So to us, nothing is more important than introducing people to the outdoors for the end goal of conserving wildlife," Bergin said.