Awesome Snake Science!: 40 Activities for Learning About Snakes
Acknowledgments have never known a book to be written and pro duced without the assistance and encouragement of many people and this book is no exception I am grateful to the staff of the Dallas County Conser vation Board who ignited the spark for this book by encouraging me to design interactive components for a traveling snake exhibit unearthing a long dormant interest in teaching about these wonderful animals Once I started I relied on my children their friends and available neighbor kids to test activities and act as models My husband Phil was always a willing photographer and his organizational skills and dili gence in downloading and labeling images saved me more than once Many scientists natural resource managers naturalists and photographers were quite helpful and generous with their knowledge and their images Their interest in the project kept me going However none of this would matter if it weren't for the support and assistance provided by the staff at Chicago Review Press Thank you for your belief in this
Introduction number of years ago my uncle John Torline handed me a white flat box You're the one person I know who would appreciate this he said I found it in my cabin I opened the box lifted a layer of cotton batting and saw a partially decomposed partially mummified snake Some of the skeleton was visible as was the snake's final meal one mouse in the belly and one mouse just by its mouth I was delighted This gift may seem quite unusual but it was from an uncle who obviously understands and supports what I do I'm not surprised by his support When I was a child I would tiptoe to his aquarium to peer at the live rattlesnakes he had captured I don't remem ber them being very active but I could occasionally hear a soft buzz I didn't realize at the time how much this experi ence made an impression on me My early exposure to snakes undoubtedly helped me to feel more com fortable around and interested in them When I got my first real job as a seasonal keeper at a local zoo I sometimes fed watered cleaned up after and han dled the snakes I later worked in nature centers where snakes are often kept as educational
Almost daily I had a snake in my hand encouraging people of all ages to touch it as they asked questions and learned more about the adaptations and ecologi cal value of these fascinating creatures I came up with The Secret of a Snake's Swallow project on page 24 to help a young girl understand how snake jaws work The success of that demonstration inspired me to try to develop even more projects and activities Although you can learn and teach a lot when you have a snake in hand the activities in this book are designed to help you learn more about snakes with out needing to have a snake right in front of you Do these projects to gain a good foundation of basic knowledge about snakes To see what you learn come to life visit nature centers museums and zoos to view live snakes Then head outside to find observe and record what snakes you see in your area keeping in mind that snakes are wild creatures that deserve
