LIVE & (sort of) on the LOOSE! A Look at Venomous Reptiles of the Southwest

This live animal presentation is offered daily by the staff of the Herpetology department. These 1-hour long programs take place every day in our new Warden Oasis Theater at 12:15 p.m. except during other special events.  Though the museum has a long history of public programs interpreting animals; this is the first time that live rattlesnakes have been incorporated into them.

Each program presents two species which may include: Mexican Beaded Lizard, Diamond-backed rattlesnake, Mohave rattlesnake, Black-tailed rattlesnake, Gila Monster.

Presentations focus on several topics, including general natural history, venoms and envenomations, bite statistics, rattlesnake translocation, how we work with and what it’s like to work with venomous animals. Questions are encouraged. In this manner, we can better serve the audience’s needs, keep the programs fresh, exciting, and variable, along with making the programs more interactive.

Running Wild! Live-animal Presentation
Presented at 11:00 a.m. daily except Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Pitter, patter, swoosh, raaack. These are sounds visitors will hear in the Desert Museum’s Warden Oasis Theater during a new live animal demonstration called Running Wild. Raccoon-like ringtails will scamper across the stage, colorful macaws will circle overhead, and beautiful snakes will meet audience members up close. Bold images of the animals in desert landscapes will be projected on a large screen with educational text while animals scurry about the stage. To complete the experience, subtle music will accompany the animals move about.
The new Running Wild demonstration will have a strong appeal to children visiting the Museum, since the experience will include trivia questions about desert organisms, animals running loose on the stage, a multi-media approach, the opportunity to touch a live snake, and a twenty-minute format.
The educational focus for the first year’s version of Running Wild will be animal coverings: fur, feathers and scales. Visitors will learn why skunks are covered with black-and-white fur, why even flightless birds have feathers, and why snakes are covered by thousands of scales.

For more information on any of these programs go to: http://www.desertmuseum.org/

phone: 520-883-1380
fax: 520-883-2500

by mail or in-person:
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
2021 N. Kinney Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85743

Source: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum