Education Show Help

[King-Godzilla]

I'm friends with most teachers at a local Christian school, and for the past 3 years they had me come into their classrooms to talk about reptiles and show them some of my collection (in fact, I'm suppose to go there tomorrow for the 2nd Grade). I really like talking about them and giving the kids a positive experience with reptiles, especially when a lot of them only learned the over-exaggerated negative things they see in movies.

Anyway, I would like to go out and do educational shows for other schools but I don't know what to do seeing that I'm going from doing a favor for some friends of mine in a small classroom to trying to do things more professionally for other schools. Like for example, what should I charge and should I get more reptiles (and maybe amphibians) in order to give my current ones an occasional break from traveling and to be able to have a diverse amount so the teachers can choose which ones I bring if they want to?

Here's a list of what I already have (with a beside to show what I only bring to the Christian school occasionally and a beside the regular cast):

Bearded Dragon

Oketee Corn Snake

Lavender and/or Candy Cane Corn Snakes (to show color diversity in captivity)

Crested Gecko

Normal Ball Python

Spider and/or Pastel Ball Pythons (again, to show diversity in captivity)

California Kingsnake

Jungle Carpet Python (usually use her to talk about responsible pet keeping cuz she's a rescue)

I also have a Green Iguana that I want to use for the shows once she's use to being handled (getting better but not good enough yet)

So, any advice?

[cecilbturtle]

you need some turtles thrown into the mix!

maybe play a game at the end where you go through your animals and see how much they were paying attention. show either a few pictures of the native habitats and have them guess which animals belong to which. or hold up the animal and describe what that animal might see and do during an average day.

ive worked in daycare and have 30 nieces and nephews and a baby boy. make it fun, interactive and silly and they will beg for more.

good luck!

[youbeyouibei]

On a side note too, you might look into the liability issues regarding doing shows and what not, especially if it involves the kids handling any of the animals. Just a thought but it would be a horrendous thing to have happen if someone were to get nipped or otherwise hurt in some way and then have the authorities knocking on the door or confiscating your animals.

I think that's awesome that you give talks such as that and try to further the hobby/practice of keeping reptiles and responsible ownership! Might be worth looking into to make sure everything is on the up and up on your end to alleviate any hassles that arise before they become issues. Also too, not sure if you would or not, but interstate transport of some animals (horses, for instance, as that's what I had growing up, lol!) require vet paperwork before you can transport them between states. Just my two cents. Take care and good luck with it!

[MarkieJ]

I'm not sure how it is in your area of the country, assuming you're in the US, but it would be very difficult to ask for money to do an educational show in a public school. I'm a teacher and we've had so much budget cuts, that we won't have enough paper by the end of the year.

I would do them for free right now... make some connections. When the economy bounces back, maybe you would be able to charge for your service. Also, add a Blue-Tongued Skink to your show! Mine is a classroom favorite.

Mark

[King-Godzilla]

Sorry it's been a while but I was busy and wasn't able to get online in a while (btw, the show on Friday for 2nd Grade went really well )

All the advice is great and I will definitely look into getting liability insurance and some type of tortoise and a Blue-Tongue Skink (also been thinking of getting a Brazilian Rainbow Boa too). Won't be able to afford anything new until summer, but I can start saving now.

Again, thanks everyone!

[blushingball419]

I've been thinking about trying to start up something like this as well. I feel the same way as you, I love educating people about reptiles (especially snakes), and the few presentations I did during my internship were really eye-opening. I was shocked at the amount of fear and ignorance that still surrounds snakes, and it's a very rewarding feeling to know that you're maybe helping to dispel some of that.

One of my friends already has her own reptile education business, and when I asked for advice she said that insurance was very important. Even though it's not always required, it's just a good idea. Also, most reptile programs charge about $100 to $150 for a 45 min to an hour long show. However, because I know a lot of schools are facing budget cuts and if you're just starting out, I would charge less.

I think you have a nice collection already, but yeah, a tortoise never hurts. Kids absolutely love turtles! And maybe a bigger snake (like a BRB or a RTB) to show size differences. As much as I love tortoises though, they're too much work for me, so I'm just sticking with snakes for now!!