Scaly Tales: Myths Understood

[chickenking]

Daily showtimes are:

12:00, 3:00, 5:00.

The kind lady who shared this with me is running it; also told us she has been pushing to have this show happen for years.  Very cute show&tell-type with critters.

 

[Zachary]

Split CK's post off into a thread for the new show. Thanks for the showtimes CK!

 

[chickenking]

Spoiler: More pics

 

[Jrbgwfan06]

I've been trying to edit this video as best as I can. You see, the nice girl's microphone wasn't working properly, so even at the show-time we could barely hear her talk. So, the audio is really not the best, none the less, it is a great show, and I have a video! Listen carefully, and you should be able to hear her well, just try to ignore the background sounds. Anyways, enjoy!

 

[Illy]

So the cool thing here is that they're trying to reach kids about reptiles at an early age. This helps prevent the irrational fear adults tend to get.

 

[Jrbgwfan06]

Yes, that is the point of the show, hence is why they have this name. Really, I thought it was a great show. The lady was very humorous, and it was a lot of fun. I'm not trying to suggest anything, but this show gave me a lot more of an urge to return to see it again, than LR did. The nice lady also hands out stickers, or some type of small cards to all the kids before the show starts, and I loved petting the snake at the end. It's definitely reccomended if you have kids, or are just an animal lover in general.

 

[MAZ]

Cant say that I agree with teaching kids that snakes can be friendly. If that same snake in the show was hungry, or close to molt, it would strike. Reptiles have always been fascinating to me. I've had a couple snakes as pets over the years. A corn snake and a rat snake. They are unpredictable which makes them dangerous. I will say that a well fed snake is 'usually' friendly.

 

[Pretzel Kaiser]

It's not really about teaching them that snakes are just as friendly as dogs, it's about trying to dispel the myth that all reptiles are dangerous and that they all should be fear. All animals are potentially dangerous, but people need to respect them, and not fear them.

 

[MAZ]

It's not really about teaching them that snakes are just as friendly as dogs, it's about trying to dispel the myth that all reptiles are dangerous and that they all should be fear.  All animals are potentially dangerous, but people need to respect them, and not fear them.

I'm not sure where you came up with the 'friendly as dogs' part.(added for dramatic sympathy maybe) My point put more clearly is, Fear is necessary. The moment you lose that last shred of fear for the ocean is the moment it takes you. The fear creates the respect, which in turn, establishes a mentality of 'survival'. This concludes this therapy session on fear (My mentality is just different from that of people who choose to put themselves and people around them in danger, just because 'they' think it is safe. Probably why I dont get bit by snakes or sucked into rip currents.)

 

[Pretzel Kaiser]

Fear needs to be reasonable though. Harmless snakes are being slaughtered in the US simply because most people think they're all dangerous as a rattlesnake (and in some cases being collected in the thousands to simply be slaughtered).

Fear can (fixed because fear makes most people dumb) create respect, but what kids need to learn is a level of fear associated with, "I see this snake in my yard, if I leave it alone it won't bother me" opposed to the big "kill it with fire" mentality that exists now. This show exposes kids to reptiles to show them that the popular myth of reptiles being mindless killing machines is wrong.

 

[Nicole]

I'm not sure I agree that fear is necessary for respect. Do we need to teach people to understand the nature of animals and the associated risks? Absolutely! But fear involves more than caution. Fear is what feeds abuse. Fear is a simplistic way of controlling people, and I believe children can be taught to be respectful and cautious, without also teaching them to be scared.

 

[MAZ]

Fair enough people  Clearly we see things a little differently and that is why this place keeps my interest. I still choose to keep my daughter from petting snakes until she is mature enough to choose one as a pet for herself. I dont disagree that the show has good intentions, But I teach 'look but dont touch' at this point, and the show goes against that.

 

[Pretzel Kaiser]

I understand hesitation in touching the animals, but the point is to try to get the children to connection with the animals and say "Okay, this isn't as bad as TV and movies make them out to be."

Look but don't touch /is/ the proper way to handle wild animals (unless you do animal surveys from time to time like me).