Re: Herps in School

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Posted by Steve Marks on October 16, 1998 at 08:19:14:

In Reply to: Herps in School posted by Mike on October 14, 1998 at 08:49:02:

: I'm glad this forum is up. I requested it about a week ago and for it to be up this soon, others must have requested it also.

: I am a longtime snake keeper (I am thirtysomething)and can create some decent, aesthetically pleasing cages, so housing them in the classroom is no problem. I will graduate from college in just over a year and plan on teaching science related classes and having many herps in the classroom. What I would like to get out of this site is what works and what doesn't work in the classroom. Having herps in the classroom is great, but I want students to do more than just look at them and say, "Wow! That looks great!." I want them to be able to get more out of the experience. I look forward to hearing from teachers who have had experience (good and bad) in the classroom with herps. I hope to hear about how to deal with administration in this matter, liability problems, how to integrate the animals with lessons, etc....

: I hope this forum gets a lot of response once people find out about it.

: Thanks,
: Mike

There are a few things you can do. The first two that come to mind are:

A breeding project. Leopard geckoes are a sp. that can be bred entirely within the school year. (Research for others.) Nothing could possibly be more rewarding and educational than the breeding of an animal such as this!

Build a hibernaculum. An awesome one day class project for people in the northern US or Canada. Take the class to a natural area, look for herps (teach them how to do a survey) and pick a south-facing slope to build a hibernaculum. I've had kids come back a year or two later, all excited that the hib. was being used by all sorts of animals!

Hope this gets you started!

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: : I'm glad this forum is up. I requested it about a week ago and for it to be up this soon, others must have requested it also. : : I am a longtime snake keeper (I am thirtysomething)and can create some decent, aesthetically pleasing cages, so housing them in the classroom is no problem. I will graduate from college in just over a year and plan on teaching science related classes and having many herps in the classroom. What I would like to get out of this site is what works and what doesn't work in the classroom. Having herps in the classroom is great, but I want students to do more than just look at them and say, "Wow! That looks great!." I want them to be able to get more out of the experience. I look forward to hearing from teachers who have had experience (good and bad) in the classroom with herps. I hope to hear about how to deal with administration in this matter, liability problems, how to integrate the animals with lessons, etc.... : : I hope this forum gets a lot of response once people find out about it. : : Thanks, : : Mike : There are a few things you can do. The first two that come to mind are: : A breeding project. Leopard geckoes are a sp. that can be bred entirely within the school year. (Research for others.) Nothing could possibly be more rewarding and educational than the breeding of an animal such as this! : Build a hibernaculum. An awesome one day class project for people in the northern US or Canada. Take the class to a natural area, look for herps (teach them how to do a survey) and pick a south-facing slope to build a hibernaculum. I've had kids come back a year or two later, all excited that the hib. was being used by all sorts of animals! : Hope this gets you started!

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