Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, so I am very good at giving presentations to high schoolers, i do it all of the time, but I have never been all to great with the younger crowd, I'm actually not too comfortable around kids in general. I'm used to doing anatomy and things like that. I need some advice for kids. Please help me!

Keep it very simple and move around from topic to topic. Do not stay on one subject too long. Variety of animals. Not just snakes. Use lizards and turtles also . Point out similar things and diffrent things. Keep it short about 1/2 hour.

Greg's advice is good, variety is key, keep things moving.
Remember to talk about the animals in hand... That sounds obvious I know, but with young children it is extremely important. Don't just talk about "snakes/lizards/turtles" talk about the specific animal in your hand... "He/She has" rather than "They have" etc. This can help keep kids attention focused on the true star of the show.. the animal. Because honestly if I thought people really wanted to hear me talk I'd be a politician

Also, if it is a school group, talk to their teachers beforehand and find out if they have studied anything recently that you can tie into your presentation. If they did a rainforest unit earlier in the year bring a rainforest animal and tie it in, etc

But overall keep it simple, keep it moving, and keep the focus on the animals in hand. If you find the audience losing interest in the animal you have out put it away and move on to the next.

Good Luck and remember to have fun. Kids will feed off of your energy (well not literally because that would be creepy and weird but you know what I mean) so make it fun. And if something unexpected happens (like an Iguana splatters uric all over your feet) don't try to hide it, make it the center of attention, laugh about it. Kids will love you for that.
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lost in the jungle somewhere
Z

>>Ok, so I am very good at giving presentations to high schoolers, i do it all of the time, but I have never been all to great with the younger crowd, I'm actually not too comfortable around kids in general. I'm used to doing anatomy and things like that. I need some advice for kids. Please help me!

Sulcattas are great ice breakers for kids. They are fairly benign and are well received. Move slowly through snakes depending on what you use. I tend to start with balls because they do nothing and move on up to corns and whatever else is laying around before I bring out the burm as a the finale.
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Cindy
PHFaust

Email Cindy

Land of the Outcasts!

I agree. I did a presentation to second graders last year at the school where my fiancee works. My sulcata was a huge hit. For snakes, I started with an alterna, a thayeri and a pueblan milksnake, then moved to a ball and a carpet python. The only problem I had was keeping the kids calm; they were buck wild last year! The whole show was between 30 and 45 minutes and we did two shows.
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1.1.0 Hondurans Het Amel
1.1.0 Hondurans Anery, Het Hypo
0.1.0 Honduran Hypo
0.1.0 Honduran Hypo, Het Anery
0.2.0 Pueblans
1.0.0 Pueblan Hypo
1.0.0 Thayeri MSP
0.0.1 GBK Blair's Phase
1.0.0 California King
0.1.0 California King Blue-eyed Blond
0.0.1 Speckled King WC
0.0.1 Jungle Carpet
0.1.0 Ball, Normal
1.0.0 San Diego Gopher, Poss. Het Applegate
0.0.1 Sulcata
0.1.0 Girlfriend, Caucasius Mexicana, Fiancee Phase

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