Frog Lady talks reptiles and amphibians at Woodland school
The Frog Lady brought in reptiles and amphibians named Diesel, Chummy, Chester and Jabba the Hutt as Woodland Primary School students excitedly watched them eat bugs and crawl on a white eraser board.
Award-winning professional naturalist Deb Krohn gave a herpetological presentation describing the animals' appearances, habits and natural environments, bringing in a corn snake, sulcate tortoise, chameleon, bullfrog and bearded dragons.
"The main goal here is for the kids to leave with an appreciation for amphibians and reptiles. I want them to really love them. It's not hard with kids because they don't have years and years of seeing scary movies and hearing scary stories," Krohn said. "They really get right up close and see the true reality of these animals. My animals are pets, so they're friendly. They end up leaving, and they really like them."
Krohn has won several environmental education awards and worked as a naturalist at the Forest Preserve District of Will County.
Children gasped as a giant bullfrog ate a wiggling worm, and a tree frog climbed up the side of a white eraser board, clinging with the suction of its toes.
"They were cool, and I liked them a lot. I liked the big lizard because of his tongue; it was so long," said kindergartner Trevor Reichert. That big lizard was an Argentine tegu named Chummy. Tegus are omnivorous reptiles that live in tropical rain forests and semi-deserts of South America.
At the end of the program, children were able to touch a corn snake wrapped around Krohn's arm and bearded dragons hanging out on a bucket.