Not just another ball of string!

I must admit that I originally thought our latest adventure was going to be more like seeing that giant ball of string on the side of the road and less like an educational, enjoyable afternoon but happily I was proven wrong!  M had seen an ad for the Dinosaur exhibit at Reptiland at the beginning of the summer, I had resisted her wily four year old ways but as summer progressed and her insistence increased I was slowly worn down and finally agreed to go.  Reptiland is located in Allenwood, PA, about an hour and twenty minute drive from our home and after our less than enjoyable drive to A Quaint Corner Children's Museum I was not looking forward to this trip but with a belly full of milk E peacefully slept the drive away.

A Junior Paleontologist at work

Reptiland's mission is to introduce people to the "less loved" members of the animal kingdom, M's mission was to see dinosaur bones! Pythons, alligators and lizards awaited us but we bypassed them all and went straight to the dinosaurs.  To enter the exhibit you have to pass through a paleontologist's tent set up to look like a an archaeological site.  It is equipped with maps, compasses, dig equipment and plaster casts to preserve the specimens.  Visitors are encouraged to become paleontologists and use the equipment to unearth a half-buried fossil.  M methodically used the brushes to clean off the fossil, she was very focused on her work and intent on cleaning the entire thing -- five minutes in and her goal was accomplished!

Mesmerized by Chasmosaurus

The rest of the exhibit was set-up along a walking trail equipped with interpretive signs and fun facts to inform visitors about the creatures around each corner.  The dinosaurs are animatronic but you don't immediately notice their movement which was a thrilling discovery.   We saw parasaurolophus hatching from eggs, were amazed by brachiosaurus's long neck, worried about getting eaten by T-rex and wondered at euoplocephalus's swinging tail but none were as interesting to my girls as the spitting dilophosaurus.  There was a bench located in front of dilophosaurus but just out of range of the spit that was soaking surprised onlookers.  M planted us on the bench and studied the timing of the spray, making sure we would not get hit.  She became very adept at predicting who would get sprayed and who would not and when our time came to continue on we advanced under her orders and were not surprised at all when we remained perfectly dry!

We then ventured inside the main exhibit hall.  The dark, quiet was a refreshing change from the summer sun.  The animals are housed in glassed in enclosures that are designed to resemble their natural habitat and several interactive displays guide visitors through the space.  M became enamored with a "make-your-own gecko" exhibit.  She used a touch screen to choose foot shape, eye variety, skin coloring and tail design, the choices would narrow with each selection so her final creation was a real specie of gecko we could then go visit.  She was very interested in the different eye varieties and wanted to know why a gecko would need different eyes to see at night and during the day.  This lead us into a discussion of nocturnal and diurnal animals and the differences between the two.  Another display asked you to tap an image of a herpetologist on the shoulder his image would then come to life on the screen as if you were visiting him in his office.  He introduced himself, explained his work and gave some background information on lizards before asking if we had any questions.  A list of possible questions then popped up on the screen but M solemnly asked her question out loud as I quickly scanned the options and chose the closest one. Around the next corner we ran into a dark ramp leading to a closed door.  I thought we should turn around but before I could say this M had run up the ramp and was pushing the door open.

M listening to the Gator discussion

Though I'm still not sure we entered this space in a condoned manner, I'm glad we did because we happened upon an alligator discussion.  A Keeper was standing inside the alligator pit talking with the audience about Rocky and Adrian, Reptiland's resident gators.  He shared with us that their water pit was just deep enough for Adrian to submerge her body but not deep enough for her to be able to grab and roll her prey.  This is a safety measure for both the staff and for Rocky because we were informed that gators roll each other as a mating ritual.  Even though Rocky and Adrian are a mating pair they have never reproduced at Reptiland and their living environment ensures they never will.  If the two did reproduce Adrian would become very aggressive and attack the Keepers when they entered the enclosure and Rocky wouldn't recognize the babies as his own and would eat them in order to mate with Adrian again.  This last comment worried M, she became very agitated thinking about a Daddy gator eating his babies.  When she asked the Keeper about this he reconized her concern and said he would come and talk with her about it.  After the discussion he kept his word and joined us above the gator pit to explain to M why Rocky would act that way but also reassured her that that wasn't going to happen with these two.  His demeanor was very calm and controlled and did wonders to help M understand the behaviors associated with alligator mating.  Every time we interacted with Reptiland Staff they were very professional, intelligent and easy to relate to.  They were able to explain complicated biological behaviors in a way that was intelligible to my four year old but did not feel trivial.

Up close and personal with mating Swallowtails

Our last stop was in the Butterfly House.  We were not permitted to bring strollers into this exhibit so I parked outside and carried E in.  What I first thought was an inconvenience turned into a blessing because I could immediately feel E's whole body become tuned into her surroundings.  She would follow the flight of the butterflies, turning and arching to not lose sight of them.  I could tell she knew she was experiencing something special.

Last Fall we kept a Monarch caterpillar in a large jar and observed as it changed into a butterfly.  To learn about what was happening inside our chrysalis we read Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert, Becoming Butterflies by Anne Rockwell and From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Deborah Heiligman.  I had hoped these books would helped M understand how caterpillars changed into butterflies and I was happy to hear her exclaim, "These used to be caterpillars!" and "That's a Monarch just like our butterfly!" We will definitely be repeating our butterfly investigation again this year!

As we were leaving Reptiland we passed through the obligatory gift shop and chose two new books on dinosaurs to add to our collection and a set of plastic lizards which were played with for the entire drive home.  So I am sorry to report there was not a giant ball of string in Allenwood, at least not one we saw but there is a wonderful destination for anyone looking to get to know some of the less-loved members of the animal kingdom and maybe even fall in love a little!