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I'm no Roark...
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by earthguy on April 4, 2008
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but I did give my snake talk to the largest audience that I have ever had at one time. 80 fourth graders, teachers, principals, and staff in one place at one time. I usually only do small groups (less than 20), but this was for a friend. It went well, I think, but I must say that a crowd that size has a VERY different feel than small groups. Does anybody have any special techniques that they use with larger groups (with snakes, I mean. I do environmental talks for large groups fairly frequently)?
My snakes DEFINITELY get a little extra R&R (and maybe an extra mouse) after today. Fortunately they're EXCELLENT snakes, well acclimated to crowds.
On a very happy note, I have my wife convinced that the more of these that I do, the more snakes I need (for quality and snake resting purposes). Anybody need a speaker? :)
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RE: I'm no Roark...
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by Buzztail1 on April 4, 2008
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There is only one Roark.
However, every little bit of public education we do helps out in the long run.
I have been doing classroom presentations for years and it never stops being fun.
Good luck with your future endeavors.
R/
Karl
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RE: I'm no Roark...
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by Rob_Carmichael on April 7, 2008
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Everyone has their own style and you can be very effective using many different methods. Some folks are showmen, some are hard core education, and some are in between. I am normally doing presentations in front of 100-500 people and the first few times was a little nerve racking but after you do it a few times, it gets easier and easier. Personally, I love working with a smaller group but you have to pay the bills. The more you can connect with your audience, the more effective you are with your message. Eye contact, asking questions, having a few laughs, telling the "story" of the animal, and, of course, injecting some good solid conservation themes will make you a very effective speaker.
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
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RE: I'm no Roark...
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by Cro on April 7, 2008
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Joshua, Rob`s advise is very good. Just relax and try to have fun. Don't try to be a showman/showoff.
One thing you are going to find is that when you are doing talks for a bunch of very young school kids, and you ask if there are any questions, that every little kid out there has a snake story, and instead of asking questions, they will start into this long story about the snake they saw that they will want you to identify. You have to shut that down quickly on the first one who does that, or else every other 5 year old will want to tell their snake story. Perhaps you could do more question time for older groups.
Talks that combine live animals and perhaps a slide show or power-point work well. If not that, even well drawn colorfull posters on an easle work well. You have to remember that the folks in the back can not see the details of the snakes you are holding up very well, so having a large screen behind you can help on this.
Also, remember that shows like this are great places to have a stack of brochures, for things like your local herp society, or snake rescue folks, or a list of your next show times and dates, or a list of the upcoming repticon shows, etc......
Also, have some business cards there. There are probably folks in the audience who will like your talk, and want a similar one for their group, if they know how to contact you. There have been many times folks told me they heard a reptile talk at their school or workplace. And then I ask them what was the name of the person doing the talk. And they never can remember. If those folks giving the talks had put cards out, then they could have advertised much better.
Expect the unexpected. There always will be the cottonmouth that you have on stage that bites another snake in the head and kills it dead right there on stage. And there will always be psycho snake that gets away from you and rushes the audience. Use hooks for the show, but have tongs handy just in case. And there will always be the nitwhit parents who allow an unattended 3 year old to run up to the stage where he is face to face with the 5 foot EDB you just took out of the transfer box.
Also, your time is valuable. You need to charge folks for your time and make it worth your while. I still do educational reptile talks for scout troops for free, or gas money, as they usually do not have much money for educational talks. Most schools have at least a small budget for talks, and larger High Schools could pay you a good amount. Folks like power or cable companies who want you to educate their outdoor workers on venomous snakes should be charged a lot more. And sportsmans shows and fairs should pay a whole lot more. Do not be afraid to charge folks for your services, as this should be treated like a business, no matter how Altruistic your like for reptile education is.
Some folks who do reptile talks have a "signature" that they use in every talk. This can help folks reconise you in the future. For Steve Irwin, it was his Khaki outfit. For Okefenokee Joe it is his guitar and songs. For others it might be a certain beat up Australian looking hat. Some zoo keepers would not dare do a talk without wearing their zoo uniform. Wether this is important or not, it is worth thinking about if you plan to do a lot more talks in the future.
The more you are remembered, the better you will be able to attract more paying customers.
I rarely do reptile talks anymore, as my loss of hearing makes hearing questions from the audience very difficult. However, in the past, I did a lot of them, and it was a fun thing to do.
Hope this helps a bit Josh.
Best Regards JohnZ
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RE: I'm no Roark...
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by Rob_Carmichael on April 8, 2008
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John made a fantastic point on the questions. Before I get into my talk, I make it clear (whether its kindergartern or middle school) what the difference is between a "story" and "answering the question". I tell them that I LOVE stories but that we just don't have the time and I also tell them to pass their questions to their teachers who can email me and I'll respond when I have a chance....and I do get questions! Believe it or not, kids are smarter than we think.
Here's another helpful hint: I give a few (only a few) ground rules to the audince (mostly commen sense things). But, I realize that kids are not perfect angels and can't be quiet for an entire program - I'm talking about a group of 100 or more students (smaller groups are easier to manage). So, my rule to them is that when I am in front of the group talking, everyone is quiet. Once I walk around the group/crowd to give folks a close up look, they are allowed to talk quietly to themselves while I'm walking around. BUT, their cue is that once I'm back in front, they have to be completely quiet. I make them a deal that if they can follow this rule, they'll see all the animals. It works.
I typically will do three things with each animal:
- give a few clues about the animal to generate excitement before it even comes out of the box/bag/conatiner. I want to see if they can figure out what it is. If you take the animal out right away, the kids will just focus on the animal and will only see your lips moving...so, give 'em a little enticement and once the animal is out, and once they get their "oohs and ahhs" out of their system, you can add a few more tid bits.
- Once the animal is out, I don't give them the entire life history of the animal - just point out two or three of the most important things you want to get across. It could be a peculiar behavior, defense or hunting strategy, crypticism, etc. Just keep it brief. I'll also share how that animal came to our facility as some have some interesting stories to tell. Finally, I'll add one or two things that we can do to help these animals or something interesting about conservation concerning that particular animal.
- During this time, I also like to ask questions - it keeps your audience engaged which is vital if you are speaking to a large group. This might include asking questions, bringing someone up on stage to be an assistant, have a helper with a snake hook in hand "just in case the animal gets away" (sure, you are in complete control but it connects the group a bit).
This could be a topic for a very long thread and its own forum! Education is power. Each year I present to thousands and thousands of folks but each year, I learn new things, new tricks, new ways of getting the message accross and this keeps things fresh.
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RE: I'm no Roark...
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by earthguy on April 8, 2008
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Thanks, guys. How many and what kind of animals do you generally bring to talks? I have taken venomous to small groups, but I always ask first. I didn't feel comfortable taking venomous to this large crowd (yet), so I didn't even ask. Maybe in future big groups. I would also like something fairly large for a visual impact, but nothing that will eventually require me to feed pigs to it. You know, a six foot long boid just makes more of a visual impact than a six foot long rat snake. There's just something about that body mass.
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RE: I'm no Roark...
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by Rob_Carmichael on April 8, 2008
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The types of animals that I bring will really depend on the focus of the show and what the group is requesting. Unless the show is highly supervised and very secure, I typically don't show venomous other than my old gila monster and a tubed timber rattler. All of my other venomous herps are on public exhibit and we'll take them out for smaller presentations (mostly college groups or zoo workshops) when I am demonstrating handling, etc.
For a "standard" one hour show, I'll bring the following:
- burmese python OR Boa constrictor (as I get older I tend to find myself reaching for the big boa)
- eastern indigo
- one or two Illinois native species of snakes including the fox snake that I am doing a radio telemetry study with (and demonstrate this during my show with a model radio tagged snake hidden in the room/gym that I am presenting in....kids and teachers love it)
- small alligator or our young saltwater croc
- gila monster
- argentine tegue OR black throated monitor
- leaf tailed gecko (great for crypticism talks)
- gopher tortoise (goes hand in hand with my indigo)
- blanding's turtle (another herp we are studying)
- alligator snapper
Additionally, I'll also incorporate birds of prey into my talks when folks request it (if I do that, I take fewer herps as birds of prey take a lot more time to get ready).
I have used our king cobra and large C. atrox for talks but it just leaves you exposed for the "what ifs" that can happen. I don't use venomoids so I have to worry about those things.
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RE: I'm no Roark...
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by Cro on April 8, 2008
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Josh, I have always presented talks on the reptiles of Georgia, or of the South East, so never used things like boas or pythons. But, you are right, on a general reptile talk, a large snake usually gets folks attention. In my case, that would be a 5 foot EDB and a 4 foot Canebrake and Cottonmouth. And of course, the largest Copperheads and Pygmys and Coral Snakes that I could find. The larger the snake, the better the audience will be able to see it. You will also need some harmless native snakes that folks are likely to encounter. King snakes and ratsnakes are often good for that, as well as coachwhips. Snakes like pinesnakes do not work well, mostly because folks are not likely to see one in the wild. Allowing the audience to come up and actually touch a harmless snake can work well if you have a great looking corn snake or king snake that is fully tame, or even a boid that will tolerate that.
Be sure if you use venomous snakes that each is housed in a Lockable, preferably wooden Box. Often times you might be doing several talks in a day to a school, and the snakes will have to be kept hopefully in a locked janitors closet, or perhaps on stage between shows. And you will take a lunch break, and have to leave the snakes, so they need to be secure.
Also, if you use locking boxes, and they are designed correctly, you can tote a bunch of them stacked on a handtruck or dolly into the show. You can see they type of boxes I am talking about if you watch any of Okefenokee Joe's shows, and I built a bunch of them for the Edisto Island Serpentarium last year, so you might see some in use there.
In school situations, the Principal is King. He is the one who has to make the venomous decision for snakes coming to his school or not. A nice folding color brochure showing you working audiences with both venomous and non-venomous snakes is great for that to let him know just who is bringing venomous snakes to his school.
These brochures are inexpensive these days. Any Kinkos or Office Supply can probably do them for you. Just make sure you have a friend with good photography ability and a flash to be there to photograph your shows to get publicity shots during the shows for you to use in advertising.
People who are known for Venomous Shows, like Okefenokee Joe or Heyward Clamp usually have no problem with this, as they are recognized professionals. You need to try to create that recognition for yourself.
I really see no difference concerning venomous snake shows if the audience is 20 or 200. But I do tend to cover non-venomous snakes more, and commonly found venomous snakes more, like copperheads and cottonmouths, if the audience is real young, and tend to not spend as much time with pygmys, corals, and timbers. In a show like that, I might bring one larger rattlesnake just for some excitement.
Hope this helps.
Best Regards JohnZ
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