DAILY NEWS TRANSCRIPT (Needham, Massachusetts) 22 April 04 Jumpers and jellies: Things are hoppin' at the EcoTarium (Chris Bergeron)
Worcester: You think you know everything about Kermit the Frog?
He's got bulging eyes, three webbed fingers and likes to sing "It's not easy being green."
But did you know his cousin, the inch-long terrible dart frog is the most toxic vertebrate known to science? And fire-bellied toads scare enemies away by displaying their scarlet tummies? Or Rosie the Ribiter set the world frog jumping record of 21 feet, 5 inches in 1986?
So hop on over to discover the fun and fascinating world of "Frogs! Beyond Green" at the EcoTarium in Worcester.
"The exhibit is designed to inform people about frogs and dispel any myths they might have," said Kathleen Kennedy, senior wildlife keeper at the EcoTarium.
Organized by the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans, the traveling exhibit is suitable "for fourth-graders and up," she said.
"We've got exotic frogs from around the world and ones you'll find in your back yard," Kennedy said. "There's something here for visitors of all ages." It runs through Labor Day, Sept. 6.
Featuring 25 species of frogs from around the world, the exhibit explores the real and make-believe worlds inhabited by sticky-tongued amphibians from tiny tree frogs in your back yard to nasty old Mr. Toad who caused lots of trouble in Kenneth Grahame's "Wind in the Willows."
This exhibit is a Kermit family reunion with Chaco leaf frogs, jaguar frogs, African bullfrogs, Bell's tree frogs, bumblebee dart frogs and more.
And for frog fans looking for something other than green amphibians, try the red tomato frogs, Indonesian white tree frogs, red-eyed leaf frogs, yellow-back dyeing dart frogs and even a pair of albino aquatic frogs.
If you and your kids are in a reptilian mood, slither on over to meet a 95-pound snapping turtle and a 6-foot-long monitor lizard at an Earth Day celebration, Friday, April 23, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It'll be a amusing day with NERD -- that is the New England Reptile Distributors, that'll provide three live animal programs.
The new exhibit lives up to its promise, "You'll never look at a frog the same way again."
First-grader Colin Troughton stood eye-to-eye with a bunch of aquatic clawed frogs by climbing into the middle of a doughnut-shaped crawl-in tank. "These are real life frogs. Some are goldish-yellow," he observed. "And some of them are poison for real."
Visiting with his mom, the 6-year-old from Sudbury learned from the exhibit, "Frogs can jump really high but toads just walk pretty fast."
Bright-eyed Maddie Wilson-Shattuck knew exactly what she liked about the exhibit. "I like frogs because they jump around," exclaimed the 4-year-old from Templeton who seemed to be hopping from excitement.
Kennedy explained scientists classify frogs as members of the amphibian class, a Greek word meaning "double life," referring to their metamorphosis from water-dwelling tadpoles to land-based creatures in their maturity.
Related to toads, newts and salamanders, frogs have been around for 220 million years. The exhibit comprises frogs from North, South and Central America, Asia, Australia and Madagascar.
Amphibians are cold-blooded creatures whose smooth, moist skin helps keep their body temperatures equal to their external surroundings.
Kennedy stressed frogs don't make good pets.
"Their skins are absorbent so they really shouldn't be handled by people too much," she said. "They're not really cute and cuddly."
And Kennedy denied the popular belief, probably based on their bumpy skin, that toads and frogs give warts to people who touch them.
Aiming for children and adults, the exhibit mixes yucky kid stuff with interactive science stations and a pop culture gallery of "famous frogs."
Curious visitors, like 9-year-old Dennis Tighe, discovered "fun frog facts" by looking under movable wall flaps. He learned:
- Tadpoles, which have no eardrums, "hear" through their lungs.
- The baby paradoxical frog is three times as big as its parent before "shrinking" down to adult size.
- Natives of the Amazon rainforest tip their arrows with poison extracted from the deadly dart frog.
- A female Surinam toad carries up to 100 babies in special pits in her back.
Using transparent cages, the exhibit displays the natural habitats of more than a dozen frog species, showing how they've adapted their coloration to hide from predators.
Jonah Brunetti "dialed" several frogs on a special telephone to get an earful of the sounds they make.
An ornate horned frog made a throaty clacking noise. A red-eyed leaf frog sounded like a tire deflating. The bullfrog croaked like a lawnmower mulching wet leaves.
A 10-year-old who keeps two pet frogs in his parents' Douglas home, Jonah said he was excited the exhibit showed different woodland, jungle and aquatic environments where frogs live.
For 26-year-old Elaine Santos, the "famous frogs" gallery reminded her of a Trivial Pursuit game for amphibians.
In ancient China, three-legged frogs were worshiped as harbingers of good fortune. Native Americans of the Haida tribe considered frogs omens of prosperity because they lived on land and in water, according to the exhibit.
In the Old Testament, Egypt suffered a plague of frogs while 20th century blues singer Clarence "Frogman" Henry croaked "I ain't got no home."
"I never knew frogs had been so important for so long," she said.
Well, visit Kermit and his relatives at the EcoTarium and discover there's more to frogs than meets the eye.
The EcoTarium is located at 222 Harrington Way, Worcester. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.
Jumpers and jellies: Things are hoppin' at the EcoTarium