We visited the Hobe Sound Nature Center for a quick peak at the displays. We found a lot of interesting stuff inside.
The critters on display were the most popular with my children. One display had five tree frogs in it. Mommy was able to spot the five quickly, the rest of the family took a while to see them.
The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) was a small critter, not fully grown. He swam around a lot while we looked at him. Maybe he was searching for a way out!
Another tank had a variety of tropical fish.
A few snakes were on display as well, though they were less lively than the alligator and fish.
The snake below is the ball python (Python regius), a local variety. This particular snake is twenty years old. They can get as old as fifty years, which is amazing.
Even more amazing was when the woman working there took the snake out and let my children pet it!
She said the snake is not poisonous and gave us a quick tip to tell the poisonous from non-poisonous snakes. Poisonous snakes have triangular heads; non-poisonous have rounded skulls. Either way, I don't want to mess with them in the wild!
A central case had a display of fish bones--shark jaws, dolphin ribs, whale ribs, a whale's skull, etc. The most interesting thing to the kids was the sponge, which was large but light.
Another big hit was "tic-tac-toad" with little plastic toads. They had either an X or an O drawn on their backs. My son beat me with the help of a dark-backed toad which wasn't clearly an X or an O. He took the most favorable interpretation.
The visit was fun and quick. They have a nature trail outside but the heat and humidity were too high on this trip.
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| Sign outside |
The critters on display were the most popular with my children. One display had five tree frogs in it. Mommy was able to spot the five quickly, the rest of the family took a while to see them.
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| Tree frog display |
The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) was a small critter, not fully grown. He swam around a lot while we looked at him. Maybe he was searching for a way out!
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| American alligator |
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| Close up |
Another tank had a variety of tropical fish.
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| Tropical fish |
A few snakes were on display as well, though they were less lively than the alligator and fish.
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| Snake! |
The snake below is the ball python (Python regius), a local variety. This particular snake is twenty years old. They can get as old as fifty years, which is amazing.
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| Snoozy python |
Even more amazing was when the woman working there took the snake out and let my children pet it!
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| The python escapes! |
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| Petting, not hugging, allowed |
She said the snake is not poisonous and gave us a quick tip to tell the poisonous from non-poisonous snakes. Poisonous snakes have triangular heads; non-poisonous have rounded skulls. Either way, I don't want to mess with them in the wild!
A central case had a display of fish bones--shark jaws, dolphin ribs, whale ribs, a whale's skull, etc. The most interesting thing to the kids was the sponge, which was large but light.
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| Dried out sponge |
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| Another angle on the sponge |
Another big hit was "tic-tac-toad" with little plastic toads. They had either an X or an O drawn on their backs. My son beat me with the help of a dark-backed toad which wasn't clearly an X or an O. He took the most favorable interpretation.
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| Careful concentration |
The visit was fun and quick. They have a nature trail outside but the heat and humidity were too high on this trip.
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