Search results matching tags 'teachers' and 'reptiles'

A Visit to Richmond

Anonymous — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:14:46 GMT

On Tuesday morning, January 24, we drove to Richmond to meet with other Virginia wildlife educators, zoo directors, animal rescues, wildlife veterinarians, and small business owners who will all be negatively impacted if Virginia Senate Bill No. 477 and/or House Bill No. 1242 are passed. We also spent time meeting with senators and house members to let them know the unintended consequences that would happen if these bills were passed.

We learned a few things that would be helpful for anyone interested in helping us stop the passage of these poorly written bills:

1. Write hand written letters to the Senators and House Members on the committees in charge of the bills. The letter should give reasons why the bill, if passed as is, will impact you personally. A one page letter is best. We were informed that emails are rarely, if ever read. Also, form letters are often thrown out before being read. Hand written letters, from a personal perspective, are the most likely to have impact on a representative.

A list of state Senators, including all contact information, involved in the bill is at http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+com+S01

The list of house members, including all contact information, involved in the bill is at http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?121+sub+H01001

To find out who your Virginia representatives are, visit http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform

2. Be kind, cooperative, and respectful when addressing your representatives, their aides or any office staff, whether in writing or in person. Keep the door open with the legislator so that he/she will continue to listen to you in the future. The goal is to have the bill thrown out – but sending the bill “out for study” is good too. We agree that people need protection from dangerous animals, but these bills, as they are written, will not stop dangerous animals from being kept in unsafe conditions in Virginia, they will only put a stop to responsible animal ownership and education.

3. Meet with committee members in person, especially if the member represents your district. Plan ahead. Be ready to make your point in 3-5 minutes. Bring a lots of copies of the bill itself and a one page list of bullet points that summarize your position against the bill that you can give to each representative or his/her aide. Many of the representatives may not have read the bill or may not be fully aware of what it says. Also, remember to dress properly: business attire is best. You can find your district’s representatives and other great information on planning a visit to the Virginia General Assembly at http://legis.virginia.gov/1_cit_guide/cit_welcome.html

Hosting Your School Assembly Performers

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:27:31 GMT

The school year is just getting swinging. You have been given the task of hiring and hosting this year’s school assemblies. You have finished hiring your performers – now it’s time to get ready for the show.

Step One: Choosing the Right Location for the Show

A variety of factors make up a good school assembly performance space.

Availability – the performer will need time to set up and break down before and after the assemblies, so be sure the space is available during the full time the performer will be at your school.
Size – More space is always better than not enough. Try to secure the largest possible venue for the performance. Keep in mind the size of your audience and the size of the actual performance space. Also respect FIRE CODE occupancy limits. If you think there may not be enough room to accommodate all the audience members plus the performance area , you may need to book extra shows.
Access: Most school assembly performers come with a lot of baggage, literally speaking. PA systems, props, and especially live animals are not easily transported up stairs or for long distances. Choose a performance space that is easy to load equipment and animals into. Try to choose a location is wheelchair accessable (this makes loading with a cart easy.) If there will be stairs, be sure to let the performer know in advance as stairs may present a problem for some performances.
PARKING: Please be sure you have a close parking spot reserved for your performer. No Parking = No Performance for us here at Reptiles Alive and for many other performers as well.

STEP TWO: Know Your Performer’s Show Set Up Requirements

Closely read ALL of the paper work the performer has sent you: contracts, prep sheets, etc… Contact the performer with any questions you may as soon as possible. If your performer has not informed you of any specific needs or requirements ASK them BEFORE the date of your assembly.
Arrange with your school’s staff to have the performance space set up as needed on the date of the assembly.

Step 3: The Day of the Show

Arrive at the school at or before the approximate arrival time of the performer so you are there to greet them and assist in getting the performer checked into the school, parked, and shown to the performance space.
Keep a phone with you that you have given as your emergency contact number for the performer. This way you will know if the performer is running late or having other trouble getting to your show that day.
If the agreement was for payment to be given on the day of the show, make sure to have the signed check in the proper amount ready to give to the performer.

Now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!

Creature Feature: RattlerJen

Anonymous — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:57:20 GMT

Jennifer Houha Pennington

Curator and Wildlife Educator

Reptiles Alive Name: RattlerJen

Hissstory: RattlerJen spent her early years leading her terrified mother around the reptile house at the Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her mother kept her eyes covered the entire time. Jen also spent many hours after school exploring the desert around her home for snakes and lizards. She was very careful not to bring any home, however.

RA Diet: It is well known that RattlerJen will eat nearly anything. Except canned peas, those are just gross.

Natural Diet: Jen is a bit of a foodie. Her favorite foods are flavorful cuisines from around the world. Sushi, curry, linguine, pho, steaks, ribs, gyros, and especially green chile cheeseburgers. Her favorite foods are cooked by her awesome husband, who cures and smokes his own sausages and bacon from local free-range, humanely raised, organic, heritage animals and includes herbs from her very own garden.

Range: RattlerJen has been away from New Mexico for over a decade now, but she still considers it her native home. She is completely enamored with the DC area as it has everything. (Although she believes you can have your traffic DC)

Habitat: You might encounter RattlerJen performing a show at a school or special event. She can also be commonly seen driving the reptiles to shows. When not in public view, RattlerJen spends time working on the Reptiles Alive website, the Reptile Ranger Certificates, and assists with managing the office and the animal collection.

Size: Fluctuating. (See natural diet for further details)

Lifespan: Depending on bacon intake, she could live for 80 years or more.

Reproduction: Early on in their dating relationship, RattlerJen’s husband lost track of her while on a hike in the desert. He found her standing on the side of the trail with a live rattlesnake’s tail in one hand with the rest of it happily looped over a branch held in her other hand. She was talking to it as if it were an adorable puppy while moving it to a safe place off the trail. From that point on, he realized he was not allowed to be afraid of anything.

Conservation: Before coming to Reptiles Alive!, RattlerJen had a huge amount of experience working with reptiles and other animals. She worked as keeper and educator at the American International Rattlesnake Museum, home to the largest collection of live rattlesnakes in the world.

In 2000, she transferred to Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Florida. While at Busch Gardens, she gained experience caring for a variety of animals including: crocodiles, giant snakes, giant tortoises, and Komodo dragons. In 2001 she moved to Northern Virginia and became the curator at the Reston Zoo.

Cool Facts: Most of RattlerJen’s free time is spent hiding in the woods from search and rescue dogs. She is a member of a wilderness search and rescue group as a dog handler. Jen is training her dog Grom to find lost people in the woods.

Did you know she also is training many of the animals at Reptiles Alive too? Gary, the plated lizard, knows how to sit up and beg. Splash, the water dragon, is learning to do her taxes.

Creature Feature: Cobra Caroline

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 15:10:19 GMT

Caroline Seitz Director/Founder of Reptiles Alive LLC Reptiles Alive Name: Cobra Caroline (aka The Reptile Lady) Hisstory: Cobra Caroline performed her first live reptile show in public when she was 9 years old. She continued presenting wildlife education programs through high school and college and then worked a few years at various zoos and nature [...]

Back to School Time…

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:27:17 GMT

September is a busy month in the office at Reptiles Alive. After a super busy summer filled with performing shows at summer camps, fairs, libraries and more, we are ready for the change that fall brings. Summer is very intense – there are many days where all of us start work at 7 am and [...]