Jar of Fun #1

I gave Cathy the honor of reaching into the Jar of Fun this morning to select our first big destination of the summer... she pulled out Clyde Peeling's Reptiland.  

Browsing their website, I learned that Reptiland opened back in 1964, though I'd be willing to bet that most folks outside of the Williamsport area probably never heard of it before Pennsylvania Guys by Sloppy Secondz - the hilarious parody of Katy Perry's California Gurls - got some serious You Tube time and nearly a million hits.  Look for the reference around the 0:48 mark.

I first heard about Reptiland about a year ago after friends planned a trip there.  I even had Rich take Matt there last fall on a school in-service day when I was unwilling to sacrifice a vacation day that would otherwise be paid out at the end of the year as part of my severance package. But before I conceived the Jar of Fun, I never would have imagined that I would spend an afternoon there. 

I have to admit that I really love how they describe themselves on their web page: "Reptiland is a specialized zoo that introduces visitors to the less-loved members of the animal kingdom in a safe, entertaining format." Snakes, lizards, dinosaurs, crocodilians. Yeah, there's pretty much nothing in there that I love, but everything that little kids do (especially six-year old little boys).

After parting with $12 for lunch in the Crocodile Creek Cafe and $38 in admission charges, ($14 for me, $12 each for the kids) we walked to the main exhibit building. This building starts off with a brightly lit room that a male and female (Rocky and Adrian) alligator call home. We had the chance to watch the alligators feed and we learned some pretty fascinating things about them: 

•  They are, to some degree, trainable... not in the same way that a dog is, so no shaking hands or playing dead, but they are able to come when called or open their mouth when asked, which makes feeding them a much easier task.
• While these two gators are 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' and go through the courting rituals, they've never actually mated.  The theory is that when alligators mate in the wild, they are turning in circles in the water, but here at Reptiland, the water in their room is likely not deep enough.

After leaving the alligator room, there's a large room filled with a variety of reptiles - turtles, snakes, geckos, etc. that the kids got a kick out of seeing.  They've got an anaconda, king cobra, boa constrictor, rattlesnake, and Matt's favorite: the milksnake. I can still remember him chattering endlessly about this snake last fall, and he was thrilled to have a chance to share it with his sister and me today.

Outside the reptile building is a greenhouse filled with a variety of butterflies. The kids were so hoping to have one land on them - they even stood as still as their little selves are capable of standing - but no such luck. I'm still at a bit of a loss on how this might be connected to reptiles, but they were pretty to look at and with all the flowering plants inside, the greenhouse smelled terrific. We went through this exhibit twice!

From there, we walked around outside where there were several groups of turtles on display, including Galapagos tortoises and several species of smaller turtles. Matt was practically obsessed with the idea of feeding the turtles (and also the Emus on the other side of the park). We bought little pellets and the kids tossed it into the exhibit, but the turtles seemed uninterested.  They were not at all like the ducks and trout that we are so used to feeding stale bread in the summertime... 

Next up, show time!  The show combines video and sound clips with a live lecture (complete with animal exhibits) and offered us the chance to touch a few of the residents of Reptiland. First up, we talked about dinosaurs - and I learned that there's been a change in the way descendants of dinosaurs are now classified. Whereas when I was growing up, you were required to have both horny scales AND be cold-blooded, the cold-blooded requirement was dropped somewhere along the line. So our first exhibit was an actual living descendant of the dinosaur.  Now that sounds really cool and in a way it is... but it was a rooster.  Horned scaly feet?  Check.  Must be a dinosaur.

Next up, we talked about the alligator, the difference between alligators and crocodiles (round versus long jaws, visibility of teeth), sounds that alligators make and how that relates to all the sounds that birds make. Our zookeeper pulled out a roughly four-year old, three-foot long gator and gave everyone a chance to touch it. Reminded me of the swamp boat tour we took in New Orleans a few years back and the tiny baby we each held.  

Lastly, we talked about the snake which was in the same reptile category as the lizard... just a few differences: snakes cannot hear and have no ears and have no eyelids. Also, they have no feet. The zookeeper pointed out which part of the snake becomes Coach handbags and belts and shoes and then brought it around for everyone to touch. The kids were much more eager to put their hands on it than I was, but I gave it a quick pet too. And as I watched it slither around the girl holding it, I crossed snake-tamer of my list of potential careers!

Once the show was over, there was nothing really left to do except head over to the new dinosaur exhibit. No, it's not Jurassic Park there, though that certainly would have made it worth the price of admission for me!  They did have some lovely dinosaur animatronics, most of which were not done to scale.   T-Rex was the only thing that was done to scale with the brachiosaurus the next closest, though probably only have its real size. I had the kids pose with the T-Rex for a little perspective on its size and as you can see, Matt and Cathy look like tiny snacks in comparison.

While the website suggests that you arrive right before a showtime (which is absolutely a good idea) and expect to be there for at least 90 minutes, we somehow managed to spend the better part of three hours there.  I asked the kids to rate it as we were leaving - something I am hoping to ask them all summer long so that I can share their opinions as well as my own - but the concept of a 1 to 5 scale was a little lost on them.  Matt said it was "alright" then gave it a 5 and then told me that Slinky Action Zone was way better.  Hopefully as the summer goes on, he'll get a little better with his ratings.  As for me, I'd probably give it a 3.  I was expecting something bigger - likely because I think regular zoos do as good or better than Reptiland of showing off these 'less-loved' creatures. If it's completely up to me, I won't be heading back.  But, boys do love their snakes and frogs and such, so I can imagine Matt looking for another trip back. 

We stopped for ice cream right down the road from Reptiland at Weaver's Ice Cream and Pizza Parlor. The place itself was cute - it must have been an old gas station (I say this in part because it is currently, in addition to an ice cream and pizza shop, a gas station) and had a really cool 50s feel to it in terms of the decor.  It's no Penn State Creamery but it was a nice treat on a warm afternoon.

Overall, I'd say the first Jar of Fun day went pretty well.  It's fun to wake up and know that we are going someplace but not knowing where. 

We have a planned outing next Monday to Idlewild and SoakZone. Next week is buy one get one free week and that alone makes it worthwhile to plan the outing rather than leave it to chance in the jar.  It's one of the few amusement parks in Pennsylvania I haven't been too yet (I think Kennywood is the only other) so I am looking forward to it.