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It wasn’t quite the movie Wizard of Oz, but there was still a small dog, talk of tornadoes and a puff of smoke last Friday at Miller Park, as 11,000 students and teachers from southeastern Wisconsin attended Weather Day.

Weather Day provides students an opportunity to learn about seasons, precipitation, climates and storms in a fun environment. Participants are divided into two teams, and questions were asked on the jumbo screen, along with videos and demonstrations on the field. The event was sponsored by the Milwaukee Brewers and WTMJ-TV, whose meteorologists were the hosts.

“It’s really nice,” said student Alisha Hamilton from Emmanuel Lutheran in Brookfield, Wisconsin. “And a good impression for new people.”

Wisconsin Emergency Management teamed up with WTMJ-TV and Hank the Brewers Ball Park Pup to talk about pet preparedness this year.

“Thanks to Hank, the Brewers Ball Park Pup, we were able to emphasis pet preparedness,” said Tod Pritchard with Wisconsin Emergency Management and ReadyWisconsin. “The students love to talk about their pets, and that gave us a great starting point to discuss being ready for emergencies for not only dogs, cats, and other critters, but for their families.”

After the Weather Day presentation was over, students and teachers were able to attend the Brewers’ Science Fair, which had exhibits from Discovery World, The Milwaukee Public Museum and the Mitchell Park Domes. Wisconsin Emergency Management set up a booth with games, giveaways and information about preparedness kits.

“These students are the future. As they learn about emergency preparedness, they will pass that knowledge along to their friends, their family, and their community,” said Wisconsin Emergency Management Administrator Brian Satula. “That’s how our society will change the way we look at being ready and make it a priority.”