Reptile Education Show?

[SpartaDog]

You know those educational reptile shows that go to schools and kid's birthday parties and whatnot? Well, I was wondering how one would go about starting one of those.

I was SUPPOSED to put one together with a friend of mine for a summer camp, but my principal freaked out and yelled at us because we apparently didn't get her permission (we didn't, but we got the supervisor's, which means we didn't need hers) and totally ruined my summer. But I still want to do it at some point.

Is there a specific setup you need? Or a license or something?

[gardenfiend138]

I'm about to start doing shows with my local shop, and I wasn't involved in any of the planning, but I know you need to be insured, because it took them a while to determine whether or not the insurance they had covered them for it.

[wolfy-hound]

It depends on your state regulations. Here in Florida that'd be a "exhibition". You also do have to have insurance covering the general public.

You also have to be concerned with the venue, can you control the crowd so that you can keep animals and public seperate? Can you ensure that there won't be any escapes of any animals? Will the temps be safe for the animals you bring? Can you transport the animals securely and safely? Do you have enough extra hands to keep all the animals safe and the public controlled? Do you have a plan for what to do in an emergency, such as a animal escaping or a public member panicing? How will you move the display in and back out? What educational topics will you cover? What species?

There's a ton of pre-planning involved. Educational shows are extremely important to advancing the hobby and the hobby's image. A well done show can inform but a poorly done show can inflame. You can never ever plan too much.

Good luck! Keep everyone posted. You could even set up your presentation in front of a camera and show it off online to everyone here!

[SpartaDog]

Good luck! Keep everyone posted. You could even set up your presentation in front of a camera and show it off online to everyone here!

Unfortunately, that's not likely to happen any time soon. I was supposed to borrow a crestie, a garg, and a bullsnake from my art teacher and RESs and diamondback terrapins from the school, but in the principal freak out, that went out the window. So at the moment I have 3 species. Not a very diverse show XD

But, when I have a more expansive collection/friends with not-bp animals, I'll definitely give it a shot.

[Lolo76]

Unfortunately, that's not likely to happen any time soon. I was supposed to borrow a crestie, a garg, and a bullsnake from my art teacher and RESs and diamondback terrapins from the school, but in the principal freak out, that went out the window. So at the moment I have 3 species. Not a very diverse show XD

But, when I have a more expansive collection/friends with not-bp animals, I'll definitely give it a shot.

I wish we lived in the same area, because I've been wanting to do shows for a while! And I have plenty of connections, as a public librarian for a county system... also a background in education, and experience in doing educational programs/presentations. I have a decent variety of species, but just need somebody with a giant herp (showstopper) to go with me. Oh well, guess we'll both have to find a local partner.

[wilomn]

Avoid water turtles. Those who poop where they swim and are then touched by kids can be disease vectors.

If you're not doing displays where people are just looking at animals in tanks or cages you can use plastic tubs for transport. A dolly is a handy thing to have as well so you don't have to carry everything yourself.

A script is good. It will let you know what you're going to say and how long it takes to say it. Practice is helpful.

But no matter what, crowd control, be it 10 kids at a party or 200 at a library, is the key. If you don't know how to make the little buggers behave, be quiet, and pay attention, you're screwed. Age is also a factor. 3 year olds have the attention spans of gnats and don't ask many questions. 8 year olds wiggle a lot. 10 year olds can sit still and listen. They also ask a lot of questions. Older kids need more info, more detail and generally more time to ask questions.

Timing, when and how to show the animals and when and how to have kids ask questions is also important. If you have them interrupting you during your presentation, you'll lose them. Let a smart ass get away with being a smart ass and you'll have them all trying to out do each other. Cadence, how you tell them what you want them to know is also important. You need to have good flow, good rhythm.

You don't need many animals, 10 to 15 will do for most presentations. 45 to 60 minutes is about as long as most kids can sit still. 10 minutes for the 3 and under crowd is a long time. Knowing everything you can about what you're showing is vital unless just being another show and tell is all you're after. There are a LOT of those out there and the general public has NO idea that those of us who know our reptiles are far superior to those who just bring out a few snakes and lizards and also have clowns and magicians available.

There are some really lousy shows out there. Unfortunately, the lousy ones are often less expensive and budget is often all some administrators look at. If you're doing this for a living you need to make enough to cover all your expenses while still making it worthwhile to put the time and effort into the presentation.

If you're just doing one or two or a few shows for your kids school or scouts, you don't need much. If you want to do it for a living, it's a LOT of work.

[SpartaDog]

Avoid water turtles. Those who poop where they swim and are then touched by kids can be disease vectors.

Yeah. We'd have Purel available anyway, but they wouldn't be touching aquatics as it is.

If you're not doing displays where people are just looking at animals in tanks or cages you can use plastic tubs for transport. A dolly is a handy thing to have as well so you don't have to carry everything yourself.

Yes, we have plastic tubs, those round containers you see at shows, and pillow cases

A script is good. It will let you know what you're going to say and how long it takes to say it. Practice is helpful.

We had a Powerpoint presentation to use as a "script".

But no matter what, crowd control, be it 10 kids at a party or 200 at a library, is the key. If you don't know how to make the little buggers behave, be quiet, and pay attention, you're screwed. Age is also a factor. 3 year olds have the attention spans of gnats and don't ask many questions. 8 year olds wiggle a lot. 10 year olds can sit still and listen. They also ask a lot of questions. Older kids need more info, more detail and generally more time to ask questions.

The group I would have been doing would have been 10 - 15, but this is good to know if I try to pursue this in the future.

You don't need many animals, 10 to 15 will do for most presentations. 45 to 60 minutes is about as long as most kids can sit still. 10 minutes for the 3 and under crowd is a long time. Knowing everything you can about what you're showing is vital unless just being another show and tell is all you're after. There are a LOT of those out there and the general public has NO idea that those of us who know our reptiles are far superior to those who just bring out a few snakes and lizards and also have clowns and magicians available.

Well I have 3 at the moment, so 10 - 15 is "many" XD But I'd either get a partner with more animals, borrow some, or wait til I had more. I like to think I know a lot, so I think I've gotten that covered.

Thanks for the tips, this is a really helpful post.




Also Lolo, you'd be out of luck anyway. I don't have any giants XD The boa may constitute in the future, but she's still a lil gal at the moment.