My ball, Monty, had his first public appearance at my son & daughter's school on Thursday. It was always my intention to have him be an educational animal, and hopefully mitigate some of the stigma that snakes have. Since I got him he has been very mellow tolerating fast moving and grabby toddlers and inquisitive grade-schoolers (my three kids 10, 6, & 2).
My wife took him to their school where he visited two classrooms and ~50 kids had a close-up look at him. For many it was their first time seeing a snake in person much less touch one.
After about an hour of being out around so many kids he was starting to get nervous and went happily back into his pillowcase and box.
While he was happy to be back home and in his hide I'm really happy with how well he behaved during that high-stress encounter.
I look forward to many more years of educating kids that snakes are not the things of nightmares that movies and pop-culture make them out to be.