LAWRENCE TWP. -- Sons and daughters of law enforcement officers and hunters, the kids at Myron L. Powell Elementary school know what a gun is.

During an assembly Thursday, the kids watched a cartoon about Eddie Eagle, who was there to teach the kids an important lesson -- what to do when you find a gun.

"Stop!" the kids shouted with the cartoon. "Don't touch! Leave the area! Find an adult!"

The Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program was put together by the National Rifle Association (NRA) and, according to its website, has taught 26 million children in all 50 states. The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office brought the program to Myron L. Powell Elementary in Cedarville.

"It's not about guns are good or bad -- that's the parent's job," said Officer Craig Johnson of the sheriff's office. "This is about gun safety."

Bryan Miller of Heeding God's Call, a faith-based gun-violence prevention group, instead compares Eddie Eagle to Joe Camel, the defunct, cartoon camel and cigarette mascot, in how it makes guns appealing to kids.

"Parents who willfully or not willfully put their children in proximity to guns are doing, in my view, a very bad thing," Miller said. "In too many cases, someone gets hurt."

The program started in 1988 by the NRA and was developed with police officers and teachers, said NRA media manager Lars Dalseide. Local law enforcement get the materials for the program -- including an Eddie Eagle costume -- by reaching out to the NRA.

"They come to us because they want a program such as this," Dalseide said. "Firearms are a part of Americas culture and if they're not properly trained for the use of them than its best that they stay away."

Cumberland County began using the program a couple years ago and felt it would be good because the county has a large population of people in law enforcement positions and people who go hunting. When asked if anyone in their family hunts, a majority of the kids raised their hands eagerly.

"These kids are very, very aware of guns and guns around them so we just want to teach them the safety behind it," said Jenna Wehrle, health and physical education teacher at the school. She is also the school events coordinator and helped organize the assemblies Thursday.

The lesson changes slightly depending on what grade is going through the program, according to Johnson, although the only real difference is how much focus is put on Eddie Eagle himself.

"We're not teaching them to be pro or negative guns," said Sheriff Robert Austino. "We're teaching them how to be safe around guns."

On Feb. 5, a Toms River man was sentenced to three years in prison after his 4-year-old son shot a killed his 6-year-old friend after finding a gun.

With the Eddie Eagle program, Autino explained, situations like that can be avoided.

"What this program does is teach them so these tragedies don't happen," he said. "It never hurts to have it. Somewhere along the line if this program saves one kid from tragedy, it's worth it."

During the presentation, Johnson displays pictures of firearms and asks the children whether the firearms are real or fake. Afterward, Eddie Eagle cartoon plays and the children quickly learn to sing and dance along with it.

"Guns can be very, very dangerous and we do not want you picking up something that you don't know what it is," Johnson tells the kids.

According to anti-gun advocate Miller, the program makes kids more attracted to guns.

"It's a mistake, frankly, to basically give responsibility for life and death decisions to small children, which is what Eddie Eagle does," he said. "In fact, the gun should be kept away from them so it doesn't become a life or death decision."

When the cartoon is finished, Eddie Eagle comes out to high-five the children and hears what they learned.

"It's not really safe to play with guns," said 9-year-old Sabrina DiNovi after the assembly.

Nine-year-old Megan Wilson enjoyed the part where you guessed if a gun was real or fake, she explained, learning that some of them looked fake but were real.

"I didn't know you had to tell an adult whenever you see a gun," said Owen Gilson, 10, afterward.

Approximately 500 students, ranging from eighth grade to kindergarten, were taught about gun safety Thursday at Myron L. Powell Elementary School.

Although it is not required by the NRA, the sheriff's office has parents come to the school a day before to learn about the curriculum.

"That gives the parents the opportunity to come out, see what we're going to teach the kids, and -- if they feel it's not what they believe in -- they have something to do about it," Johnson said. "We're not here to say guns are good or bad -- that's your personal opinion -- we're just here to say if they find something what can we do about it."

Don E. Woods may be reached at dwoods@southjerseymedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @donewoods1. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.