I've been out of the loop for a long time. These photos are actually from March 2007 and I just now found the time to work with them. I'm just reporting another educational outreach event and sharing some neat photos. I sponsor a Reptile Club at school. Each March, the students help me set up an exhibit on boas at the "Reptile & Amphibian Day" at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, North Carolina. The students really enjoy this event because they get to interact with a lot of children who have never touched a snake before. I have students who left our school (graduated, transferred) who still come back for this event. Last year we had more students and more boas so we were able to serve more people than ever before. It also allowed me to step back and take more photos. Keep in mind that this event normally attracts around 15,000 visitors in a single day. Since we are one of the few exhibits that allow visitors to touch and hold the animals, we are kept very busy for 8 hours. However, it is well worth it when you see someone smiling with a boa in their hands who had arrived just 5 minutes before with a definite fear of snakes. An interesting side note is that at the end of the day, some of the boas won't move because they are so tired. They curl up in a knot and just sit there. Here is a sampling of photos. You can see many more by using the link below.
