Curious Creatures

This past Friday there were animals, feathered, scaled and fluffy at the Museum courtesy of Curious Creatures.  Not only did visitors have the chance to see the animals and learn about them, but they also had a chance to pet the animals as well.  Some of the many awesome animals that were at the Museum were a skunk, boa constrictor, chinchilla, bearded dragons and a flying squirrel.  Everyone in the audience had a chance to touch the animals during the show as well as the chance to spend time with some of the animals after the show as well.  The children helped hold up the boa constrictor, played with a fluffy bunny and provided a perch for the parrot.

Animals from every continent but Antarctica were present at the Museum on Friday.

• Macaw's (parrot) can be found in South America.
• Flying Squirrels can be found in North and Central America.
• Alligator's can be found in North America and China.
• Chinchilla's can be found in the Andes mountains in Peru and Chile.
• Bearded Dragons can be found in central Australia.
• Boa Constrictors can be found in North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
• Scorpions can be found on every continent besides Antarctica but are not native to the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
• Tarantula's can be found in the U.S., Mexico, South America, Africa, Australia and lower Asia.
• Tropical frogs can be found in Central and South America.
• Bunnies can be found in Southwestern Europe, Southeast Asial Africa, South America, Japan, Sumatra and in your own backyard.
• Tortoise's, Skunks and King Snakes can all be found in North America.

There was a lot of fun and educational information in the show on Friday.  In case you missed the event, here are some of the many fun facts that we learned about the many different animals present.

• A parrot’s jaw is so strong that it can break a human finger and crack open the hardest nuts.
• Parrot's lose feathers every day.
• Blue and gold Macaws from South America are as smart as a 3 year old. 
• Bearded Dragon's are shades of yellow and tan to camouflage themselves in their habitat, the desert.
• Bearded Dragon’s have no teeth and spike up when they feel threatened.
• Aside from crocodiles, alligators have the strongest jaws of any animal.
• Despite how hard a tortoise shell might seem, a jaguar can bite through it.
• Tortoise shells grow in rings from the cracks on their shells.
•  Skunks dig in the dirt for bugs to eat; the more bugs they eat the stinkier they get.
• After a skunk sprays it can’t spray for a week.

Is your child curious about lots of different creatures?  If they are, don’t be afraid to encourage their love for animals.  Share these fun facts with them, take them out to explore at the zoo or on a farm and take them to the library to find books that can teach them more about their favorite animals.

For some more photos from Curious Creatures you can check out the slideshow below.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Chinchillas and Bunnies and Frogs, Oh My!

The Children's Museum was thrilled to welcome Matt of Animal World Experience on Thursday. After several weeks of voting for our favorite animals, the votes were counted and Matt brought in the winners!

Including:
Rudy - A Chinchilla whose breed has become endangered because they have the softest fur in the world and have unfortunately been used for fur coats. This lucky chinchilla spends her days in a safe home, enjoying raisins.

Kiwi - An Australian White's Tree Frog whose slimy skin makes him hard to hang on to. He's a great jumper and climber and was happy to take a rest on the heads of a few volunteers at the Museum!

Peanut - A Guinea Pig who was dropped off at a pet store when her owner couldn't care for her anymore. Luckily she was taken in by Matt and his wife Melissa where she is a "chatterbox," squeaking and squealing her days away.

Scooter - An Alligator Snapping Turtle who took a bite out of some celery in front of his audience and cut just like a knife! Don't be fooled by his 2" long body at birth because Scooter may one day grow to weigh over 300 lbs!

Oreo - A Bunny that was found on a campground in Connecticut. She was not supposed to be let loose in the wild, so Matt spent 8 hours trying to coax her to come out from under a deck. He was successful and now Oreo spends her days munching on apples and helping Matt teach kids about responsible pet ownership.

Angel - Oreo's sister who is known as the "Queen of the House." She is a quirky little bunny who is litter box trained just like a cat.

Hulk - An Emperor Scorpion who is the 2nd largest kind of Scorpion in the world. When Matt shined a special flashlight on her she turned green! Hulk was cool to look at, but not to touch. From her sharp claws to her venomous tail, she's not as nice to pet as a Bunny!

Matt taught the children that welcoming a new pet into your home makes it a part of your family. It's important to never set your pet free in the wild if you can't care for it anymore. There are plenty of options for a shelter to keep them happy and healthy!

"We hope that through our animal presentations people will develop respect and awareness for animals of all kinds." - Matt and Melissa

Click here to learn more at Matt and Melissa's Website or Facebook Page!

-Kerri, PR Intern

Turtles and Alligators and Snakes- Oh my!

Today’s Drop-in-Day had all kinds of animals from the furry to the slimy! Dean from “Curious Creatures” stopped by with his huge collection of these curious creatures! He introduced us to one animal we all know, or have at least smelled- a skunk! But luckily for us this skunk was very nice and we didn’t have to worry about that smell!

After that Dean brought out a cute, furry little chinchilla named Charlie! Dean told us that this kind of chinchilla is found in Peru, South America. Turns out that Charlie is a cousin to the squirrel, but unlike squirrels he is nocturnal. This means that he sleeps during the day and is awake at night! But one of the most interesting (and funny!) things about Charlie and chinchillas is how they take bathes! They don’t use water like us, but dust!

Then we got to meet a turtle and it was big enough for kids to ride (and they got a chance to after the show!)! A cool thing about the turtles is how it’s shell feels. Do you want to know? Touch your fingernails, yes right now! Yup that’s how the turtle’s shell felt! Weird huh?

And then came the snakes, big and small. First we met a Mexican Milk Snake, it was about a foot long and had red, white and black stripes. Dean told us that even though it looked poisonous it really wasn’t, it’s more like a typical garden snake- just very brightly colored!

After the little snake Dean brought out the big one! It was a big yellow snake, called an Albino Burmese Python!! It was long enough so that a whole row could hold it up! It is found in Asia and he told us that there they are as common as garden snakes!! Yikes, I don’t know what I would do if a four foot snake lived in my garden! What about you?

Other cool animals that we got to meet included a hedgehog that was a little shy and stayed all wrapped up like a ball. There was also a tarantula, a big furry spider! Did you know that it’s head and body are all one- so it had legs that come out of it’s head, crazy! In addition to these cool creatures we also got to meet other lizards and some Australian frogs!

Next we met an American alligator but it was only baby so it was about 1 ½ foot long and it was actually loosing its baby teeth! But don’t go near it when it grows up, its teeth are SUPER strong! A cool trick Dean taught us was that if you turn that alligator on it’s back it will go right to sleep. He tried it and it did! Other fun facts about this type of alligator is that it likes to lay in the sun since it’s a reptile and when swimming it uses its tail like a paddle.

All in all it was a great day! And a big thanks goes out to Honest Tea who came and gave out free drinks, perfect for a hot and humid day like today!

Also be sure to check out our last Drop-In-Days of the summer next week when the Children’s Museum meets the Wild West Thursday August 27th and gets a visit from FETCH! on Friday August 28th! Hope to see you all there! Have a great weekend!