Troy University students put smiles on the faces of nearly 100 preschoolers Wednesday during a field trip to the Troy Campus.

Children from Mother Goose Child Care Center, Beulah Land Christian Academy and Immanuel Child Development Center in Dothan joined students from Banks Primary School during the event, which was sponsored by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The Pied Pipers, TROY’s children’s theater group, and dancers from the Troy University Department of Theatre and Dance performed for the children, who interacted with the performers throughout the morning.

“This was my third year doing this performance for the Kellogg Foundation children, and it’s one of my favorite performances that we do,” said Pied Pipers member Joseph Crawford, a TROY senior. “It’s a small group of kids. We get to perform and tell them some stories. It’s different from all our other Pied Pipers performances, but just as meaningful and important.”

TROY freshman Madeline Hill, also a Pied Piper, said her first experience with the Dothan preschoolers was a thrilling one.

“I absolutely love it,” she said. “Every time we perform for kids, it’s the most rewarding thing to bring theater to these children’s lives and to see their joy.”

The field trip was part of Project Pre-K to K Transition, a project funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and aimed at making preschoolers better prepared for kindergarten.

A photo gallery can be found here.