Crocodiles are focus of Reptile and Amphibian Day at NC Museum of Natural Sciences

The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will celebrate crocodiles during their annual Reptile and Amphibian Day on Saturday.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., both floors of the museum will feature dozens of exhibitors and presenters, live reptiles and amphibians (including lizards and snakes, frogs and toads, salamanders and newts, turtles and tortoises), and information on everything from conservation efforts to veterinary care.

Guests will also learn how to safely identify venomous and non-venomous species of snake in North Carolina and learn how to attract snakes to their backyard.

Snake fans will also want to check out the "My First Snake" hands-on station where people can see snakes up close, and even touch them.

Special presentations include “Colossal Crocodilians from Prehistory to the Present” with museum paleontologist Christian Kammerer, who will highlight exceptional species from the Age of Dinosaurs to the Age of the Mammals.

Naturalist Greg Skupien will present “Amazing Alligators," where he will explain what it takes to catch, study and coexist with these reptiles.

Admission is free.

First appearing approximately 230 million years ago, the hearty crocodilians — alligators, crocodiles, caimans and gharials — have survived nearly every earthly scenario. They have outlived dinosaurs, ice ages, mass extinctions and more, yet they have changed very little over time. Find out all you ever wanted to know about crocodilians, plus a menagerie of wild reptiles and amphibians from North Carolina and around the world, at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences’ Reptile & Amphibian Day, Saturday, March 9, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

All floors in both buildings of the Museum will showcase dozens of exhibitors and presenters, live reptiles and amphibians (including lizards and snakes, frogs and toads, salamanders and newts, turtles and tortoises), and information on topics ranging from conservation efforts to veterinary care. You can also learn how to (safely) identify the varied venomous and non-venomous species of snake in North Carolina and learn how to attract snakes to your back yard (yes, some people do that on purpose).

Visitors may even learn to love snakes at “My First Snake,” a hands-on station where visitors can see snakes up close, and even touch them if they choose. Kids can also enjoy making take-home crafts, perusing the Pollywog Playspace (with activities “perfect for young tadpoles”), and much more.

For more information visit naturalsciences.org.