Posted June 3, 2026

Mud Hens School Education Days bring thousands of hot dogs, fun memories

Yellow school buses lined Washington Street in front of Fifth Third Field, unloading thousands of elementary and middle school students from a multitude of districts.

Yellow school buses lined Washington Street in front of Fifth Third Field, unloading thousands of elementary and middle school students from a multitude of districts.

Science experiments, students weaving through the crowds, and volunteers passing out 6,000 hot dogs could be seen around the ballpark last Wednesday for one of the Hen’s annual School Education Days.

“I was so excited for three days, but I didn’t know it would be like this,” said Charlotte Marvais, a fifth grader at Dundee Middle School. “I do like the mascots, but the big one (Muddy), Oh my god! They are way taller than me.”

Eating and partly wearing a pint of ice cream from Tofts, Marvais said Muddy and Muddonna were fun to see in person, and easily her favorite part of the day.

Meeting the mascots is just one aspect of the Hen’s School Education Days. Presented by Great Clips, Kroger, and Ohio's 529, CollegeAdvantage, and supported by Imagination Station, more than 28,000 students and staff attended previous Education Days for hot dogs, interactive chants, and connection.

Robert Overton, Mud Hens Sous Chef, said he and the staff clock in between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on School Education Days to cook between 5,000 and 7,000 hot dogs.

“The process usually takes five to eight hours,” Overton said. “It is a busy day, keeping everything temperature controlled, but it is usually pretty good.”

Sarah Ludwig, AVI Resident District Manager, said about 20,000 hot dogs are prepared for the Education Days per year.

As the students ate their hot dogs, earned with a Hens lunch voucher, Kristy Lubiejewski, a seventh and eighth grade math teacher at Marshall Stem Academy, said the organization not only provides a baseball game, but promotes positive behaviors in the classroom.

“We use the game as an incentive trip,” Lubiejewski said. “They know they can only come here if they've been their best, so that keeps their behavior good during school.”

Other teachers at last Wednesday’s game included Kristine Hibbard and Renee Krolczyk-Dare of Ritter Elementary and Airport Community Schools, who both said the Education Days allow their students to shine outside of the classroom.

“It's nice to see the kids in a different role, instead of just sitting in the classroom and being prim and proper,” Krolczyk-Dare said. “It is nice to see … that the things we teach them to help them become good humans, to see them utilizing it out here with each other … and with the ones that they don't know.”

To the left of the St. Clair Street Gate inside the ballpark, representatives from Imagination Station set out a table of interactive science experiments. Amanda Miller, Experience Manager for Imagination Station, was freezing items like hot dogs and coins in liquid nitrogen.

“Everyone wants to know, what if I stick my hand in liquid nitrogen?” Miller said. “If we take a hot dog, which kind of looks like a finger and stick it in there … then we can look at the frostbite. The kids have been really awesome and really excited about it.”

During the sixth inning, Miller and the Imagination Station crew crushed a 55 gallon drum like a “pop can” using air pressure.

“We are going to fill it with some water, and then heat up that water … then seal it up,” Miller said. “The hot air pressure is gonna be trapped inside and when we add it to our ice (bucket) and add some cold water it should just start kind of crushing in.”

The Hen’s first School Education Days started at Ned Skeldon Stadium in Maumee before transitioning to Fifth Third Field downtown. Over the course of 30 years, an estimate of 625,000 students have attended these games, said Erik Ibsen, Executive Vice President and General Manager for the Hens.

“It's a real neat vibe on these mornings when the kids are coming in and the buses are pulling up,” Ibsen said. “Some kids are coming from an hour to an hour and a half away. A lot of them have never been here before.”

When Education Days were first introduced, Toledo Mud Hens season ticket holders still had access to those morning game tickets. However, Ibsen said the demand from schools became so high that those dates are now reserved exclusively for students.

“We're basically starting the ballpark chart with a completely blank seating chart, just so we can fill all the schools in,” Ibsen said. “There's a lot of logistics that go into it, from the coordination with the city to allow us to change traffic flow and block Washington Street off. We want to make it as easy as possible for schools to want to do this.”

Additional themed nights for the Hens can be found on the promotions schedule.

Written By: Gina Napoli