Every year for the past 10 years I have loaded up animals on a very cold day and taken a short trip to my museum. Run by Bob Henderson and hosted by the Milwaukee Public Museum, Snake Day is basically a free for all educational event. We have had some people over the years who were not thrilled with the animals in the show, but this year, folks were not only interested and intrigued but shared a genuine love for reptiles. I did have a few discussions about those lovely "animals will kill you" shows, but people seemed very receptive to the fact that those are rare instances used to make the rest of the community look crazy. One thing repeatedly pointed out to me by attendees was the fact that reptile keepers come from all walks of life. This is something I have been going on and on about for years.

Our group included everything. Zoo professionals Rob Carmichael and his crew from Wildlife Discovery were on hand, as were breeders, keepers, educators, conservationists and rescuers; we were all there. We share all walks of life in the real world. We spanned all ages from Anna (6 years old) with her corn snakes and Harmony (7 years old) with her scorpion, all the way to Nancy and Mike who are both well into their 60s. Some have tattoos and some don't, some listen to classical and some listen to heavy metal. We work in every profession imaginable. But we share one thing, and that is our love for the cold-blooded.

Our displays ranged from the tiniest amphibians to native Wisconsin species of colubrids to cobras and vipers, rare iguanas and the giants of the reptile world. We talked good pets and bad pets. Kids of all ages got their first chance to hold a snake or touch a lizard. And even more amazing is people learn about the reptiles in their own back yard.

I have a few photos after the bump, but most of all, I just wanted to share that it is important to put your money where your mouth is. Public outreach right now is so very important to our community. If you are doing things like this, let us know here on our blog.