science day at PS 107

[drache]

the "reptiles" workshops at science day at Mikhaila's school went really well
Sharon, a mom who's a science teacher at another school assisted me
we did four 25min closed sessions and we also had a rotating assortment of helpers from Mikhaila's group of friends
we admitted 12 to 15 kids with their parents and Sharon was great with the crowd control at the door
I found myself being better than anticipated with getting kids to settle down
four workshops in a row were bordering on being a bit much
thankfully I brought enough animals, that only my five most "sociable" snakes were handled each time
the others were rotated and some not handled by anyone but me

Layla, our black mexican king was just going into shed, so I took her out each time, just to have the kids look and notice the eyes
one kid there actually knew that it meant she was going into shed
the others all guessed impending blindness

there was one fun occurence
when I pulled the three garter girls out of the bag during the third workshop, they happened to all come out in a big bundle, with their heads poking out though my fingers, facing the same direction
I have no idea what they first saw when they first came out, but whatever it was, it kept their attention, so that when I moved my hand side to side, their heads turned side to side in unison for a few moments

somebody suggested that I should do birthday parties
I'm seriously considering it
not only would it give me a great excuse to get more reptiles
I'm thinking that they and their equipment would then become a business expense and as such tax deductible
I don't know though . . .

[Stefan-A]

Glad to hear that it went well.

[Cazador]

Sounds very cool and like it was a big success, Rhea. It's nice when you can help to shape so many little minds.

[Stefan-A]

Yeah, hopefully it will prevent irrational fear of snakes. Kids are usually pretty open-minded compared to adults, something I've noticed with my sister's kids.

[adamanteus]

Sounds like you had a good time there, Rhea. It's always nice to have a receptive and enthusiastic audience.

[CrazyHedgehog]

Cool, glad it went well,
when my son was about 7 they had a "bring your pet in" day at school, I was off work that day so I took 3 snakes in, assuming that I would have to show them, my son however sat me in a corner while he took centre stage, walking around the room with our largest garter letting the kids touch it one by one. The teachers were so impressed with his knowledge that we ended up (well, I was just there to hand out antiseptic hand wash it seemed!) ...he ended up doing a 'show and tell' to about 8 different classes within the school !!
That was my day off well and truly taken care of!

[drache]

here's some pictures from science day taken by my assistant
I know it's a lot of clicks, but just look how gently the kids are holding the snakes, and it's hard not to show you all the decent ones
sorry - the king got more photos, 'cause he was out more.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/226/4...bceae61d_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/225/4...25808821_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/209/4...5f523c3b_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/4...c869d024_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/199/4...a8c8bfac_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/219/4...50588fb0_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/205/4...e3452df5_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/189/4...ff2afdac_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/192/4...6a747808_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/212/4...0c4acf36_b.jpg

hope you enjoy them

[adamanteus]

Nice pictures Rhea. Well worth the extra click!

[MoJo]

That looks like it was a great day. I have been taking my snakes to school for the last 3 years. I'm not sure who has more fun - me or the kids!

Joanna

[cheryl]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. People who help expose little minds to the wonders of all animals are our best hope of a world where all life is appreciated. I only wish any of you lived close enough to me to bring that influence to our kids. Do the snakes get bored with us mundane humans?
Cheryl