Creatures & Critters: Snake Edition

close up of green and white snake

Meet Rosie, Courtney, and Olive, the Nature Center’s three snakes! Rosie is a corn snake and Courtney is an albino corn snake. The corn snake is slender with a length of 24 to 72 inches. They are usually orange or brownish-yellow, with large black-edged red blotches down the middle of the back. On the belly Read More »

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Slithering Red-bellied Snake Craft

Snake Craft finished

Even if you’re not too fond of snakes, this one shouldn’t be scary. This craft is easy with a lot of folds but it’s quite cute. You’ll be able to make your snake as long or as short as you want and as springy as you feel.   Supplies: Red paper Brown paper Scissors Glue Read More »

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The Red-bellied Snake in Iowa

*Disclaimer: the photo used is from Creative Commons. We did not find a red-bellied snake and pick it up. It’s a good photo to show the size and coloring of the snake. If you find one, remember it is a wild snake and may hurt you. We don’t recommend picking up a wild snake. The Read More »

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Snake pendulum

a pendulum hanging paper plate craft

It just takes a couple of supplies you have around the house to create a new decoration for your room — a snake pendulum! You’ll need: A paper plate Crayons Scissors String Color both sides of your paper plate. Cut around and around from the edge of the paper plate to the center, from what Read More »

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Venomous snakes of Iowa

Photos of Iowa's venomous snakes

“Does Iowa have any poisonous snakes?” It’s a question that comes up when visitors see our animal ambassador snakes, and the answer is “No.” That might not be what you expected. You see, snakes in North American are not poisonous, they are venomous — which means they inject a toxin rather than secreting a poison Read More »

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Make a bendable snake with pipe cleaner and beads

pipe cleaner snakes

In honor of my big day today, holding a snake for the first time (you can see the video here), we made a fun snake craft. Whether you love snakes or hate them, this craft is cute and simple. You’ll need: Pipe cleaners Beads Googly eyes Liquid glue Start  by selecting what kind of head Read More »

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Paper chain snake instructions

paper chain snakes

Crafts are so much more fun when the end result is actually something to play with rather than just hang on the refrigerator. This paper chain snake that can slither and wiggle is an easy and interactive craft for the snake lovers out there. And if you don’t have snake lovers, call it a caterpillar Read More »

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Feeding the nature center snakes

snake sticking out its tongue

The naturalists make sure to wash their hands after handling the mice before picking up the snakes. They don’t want the snakes to associate people with food or being let out of their enclosures with food either so that they don’t expect to be fed every time the enclosure door is opened. How a snake Read More »

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