Adaptation Station

One of the programs I teach with High Tough High Tech is called "Adaptation Station." It's a 4th grade program that teaches the kids about how animals adapt to their different habitats, and we bring some animals to the classroom to show them. In order to bring the program to the school the net day, it requires me to bring the animals to my apartment so they're not stuck in the car all night. Last night was the first night I got to have the animals, and things went well. Here are the animals I bring to the classroom:


Fire-Bellied Toads: These aren't great pictures, but Bert & Ernie are really cool - they're backs blend in with the swamp around them, and their bellies ward off predators by looking poisonous.




American Eel: Neil the Eel has a broken jaw, so he can't go back in the wild, nor can he bite. He's also not an electric eel, so this is the only animal the kids get to "pet" - he's pretty slimy and gross (I didn't take this picture...)



Red-eyed Tree Frog: This guy is really cool, and almost got out of the cage when I had him last night. They sleep during the day, so I'm pretty sure he hates us because the kids keep him awake all day.





Tarantula: I can't remember exactly what kind of tarantula Betty is, but who cares - it's a freaking tarantula. There is a scientist at the lab that will pick up the tarantula, and I just don't think I can find it in my heart to be friends with her. She's fine in the cage, but we'll leave her just right there...



Emperor Scorpion: Yup, I said scorpion. I have a story to share, and it made my life complete. I'll share at the end of the blog post. Just keep in mind that we bring fake scorpions with us to show their body structure a bit better. The scorpion absolutely gives me the heebs. There is something about him that makes my heart hurt a bit - maybe it's because he glows neon green when you put a UV light over him. Shady...





Chameleon: Buddy the Chameleon is my favorite - he is so cool! He has two horns on the top of his head, his tail wraps up into a perfect spiral, his eyes can move whatever way they want on the side of his head, and his hands are so cool! Today when I walked around and showed the kids, he started out a dark greenish/brownish color, and by the time I had passed him around completely, he turned a bright green. Cool!




So, Conor helped me bring in the critters, and I was excited to show him. He wasn't very excited about the scorpion or the tarantula, but neither was I. Conor walked to the door to shut it and lock it, and as he walked back in the room, I threw the plastic scorpion at him and he screamed like a little girl!!! I would give my pinky finger to have had that on tape - it was priceless. I fell over I was laughing so hard. Poor Conor. It's about time I got him though - he always scares me!