Summer twice the fun

zooschool07062: CALM Zoo School
A curious group of day campers check out a rosy boa, slithering its way up the arm of CALM’s Debby Kroeger.
Summer is twice the fun for children when you double the number of museums they can experience, twice-a-day, for a week. That unique idea was spawned by the California Living Museum (CALM) and the Kern County Museum. Both operate half day summer camps for children. This year, they combined resources to give children an additional, two weeks of full day camps at one location -- the museum -- from July 24-28 and Aug. 7-11. Morning sessions involve children in fun CALM activities focusing on animals, nature and the environment. Afternoons, museum staff offer children opportunities to discover exciting and thought-provoking adventures with science, music and geography.

Friday field trips to CALM culminate the week long, daily-doubles. Founded in 1983, CALM is home to native animals that because of injury or abandonment can no longer live on their own in the wild. It is actually three venues in one -- a zoo featuring the native animals, a botanical garden sprawling with lush native vegetation and a natural history museum containing finds dating back to prehistoric times.

Fridays are a chance for children to see animals that exist, but usually go unseen, in the world around them. They discover why creatures inhabit hills, valleys, grasslands, deserts and wetlands and how they contribute to the environment in which everyone lives.

During a July 28 visit, animal keeper Lloyd Klingenberg held the children's rapt attention with a great horned owl. Not a word was spoken by the children, sitting right up next to the owl, as they watched, mesmerized by its firm, stoic position on Kliggenberg's left forearm. Like a silent surveillance camera, every so often, the owl slowly turned his head to get an eyes-wide-open look at those who were staring at him. All the while, Kliggenberg offered insights about his silent bird of prey partner.

Earlier, CALM Education and Volunteer Manager Debby Kroeger had a classroom of eager children seated on the floor around her squirming, wiggling and craning their necks to get a closer look at a rosy boa snake. Although it's related to the scary, boa constrictor family, the rosy boa, found in California, does not feature a body, several feet long, capable of crushing a human. Looking more like a long bracelet, come alive, the rosy boa wound its way back and forth, up and down Kroeger's right wrist. Now and then, the snake would elevate its head giving the appearance of an ancient piece of Egyptian jewelry.

"Two-or-three feet is about as big as a rosy boa will get," Kroeger told her young charges. "They are carnivorous, just like their relatives, but their prey is small including animals no bigger than field mice. They are not considered biters, having small mouths. Still, you don't want to get too close because they do have teeth. Often you will hear snakes referred to as cold-blooded. That is not true. They are ectothermic. That means their body temperatures adjust to the environment around them."

CALM's scenic surroundings also gave the children an opportunity to picnic in its large patio area, enjoy several free-standing swinging and climbing apparatus and a man-made cave. In a large, air-conditioned classroom they made crafts and watched videos offering more insight about the animals with whom the children share the environment. In the afternoon, they were transported back to the museum where the focus shifted to fun ways of learning about science, music and geography.

Earlier in the summer, CALM offered three, half day Zoo Schools, as it has for many years. The museum featured six half day camps of its own, including one running from July 31-Aug. 4 dealing with Science Magic. The last combined CALM-Kern County Museum full day camp takes place Aug. 7-11 for children ages 5-12. For more information about CALM and its Zoo Schools check the http://www.calmzoo.org Web site. To learn more about the Kern County Museum and its Summer Day Camps, click on http://www.kcmuseum.org.


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