There are monsters and dragons that do not live in books of fairy tales, but in the pages of real biology text books. To learn more about them, you can take advantage of the summer and visit the California Academy of Sciences.
The exhibition is called “Snakes and lizards: The Summer of the crawlers.” There are 60 animals, from common lizards to other somewhat-stranger creatures—like a python that is nearly ten-feet-long, not to mention, albino.
Under its living roof, the Academy has over 38,000 live animals on permanent display. As if this were not enough, the roughly 40-foot-long robotic anaconda used in the film of the same name—the one with Jennifer Lopez—also moved in to the Academy this summer.
The display of snakes and lizards is not confined to one room and is interspersed with the permanent exhibits at the Academy.
And you don’t just get to see snakes; using a camera that detects infrared radiation—the temperature of bodies —you get to learn how snakes see you.
There are also video games that put you in the position of a creeping, reptilian hunter, but it would not be wise to linger too much in front of the computers, because there is far too much to see, explore and learn.
There are several specific activities planned for this summer: On June 9 and 23rd at 2:00 p.m., there will be guided explorations in the East garden of the Academy geared towards children from three to five-years-old, combined with games, reading and crafts, to teach them about the changing seasons and the diverse ecosystems of the world.
You can see the revolt of the penguins at feeding time every day at 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., and at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., you can see a diver plunge into the coral reef tank—with a microphone that works under water—to answer your questions about the thousands of species on display at the aquarium.
The exhibition “Snakes and Lizards” will remain open until Sept. 5.