Did my talk at my daughter's school :D

[Leanne King-Smith]

Well, I did my talk at my daughter's school yesterday. It was fab! The kids really enjoyed it. I took out biggest T, 6" L.Para in.The kids were gobsmacked, lol. They asked loads of questions, which I could answer, thankfully, and it was really nice

A big, massive thank you to Peter Roach ( thanks Peter ) for a HUUUUGE box of moults. They were fab and the kids loved them.

Also, thanks to Bex for lending me a huge blondi moult. The kids were shocked at the size of it, and the headmaster had his pic taken with it on his shoulder

Anyway, thought I'd share

[matthew spooner]

glad it went well leanne. i think its great going out and educating people, especially kids, it helps them grow up without the irrational fear.

[Peter Roach]

Glad to be of help.
Lets hope some of the kids will think twice about squishing the spiders they find in the bathroom now

[Andrew Ferguson]

That's great Leanne. My 9 year old nephew keeps saying they are freaky and why do I keep a tarantula? I always reply, "why do you have a dog?" But the other day, his 5 year old brother (my Godson) just said to him "they aren't freaky!" and then started asking a lot of very sensible questions. I was really taken aback by it. He was asking why do they build webs and not use them (ie like the orb webs he has in his garden) and how do they eat and what do they eat. It was a real pleasure to show and tell him about my tarantula. I dug out some of my books (still all boxed up due to the recent house move) and showed him a lot of pictures. In fact, it made my day as up until very recenty, he's been a cretin of a child!

Kudos to Leanne for helping to educate the next generation of tarantula keepers!

[Leanne King-Smith]

Thanks Andrew

Yeah, some of the kids asked great questions. Like:

How do they move without any bones?

(Would've rather less technical q's seeing as they were 4-5 year olds lol)

They don't eat mud do they? lol

Was a fab experience and I will deffo do it again when they want me

I HAVE KUDOS

[Colin D Wilson]

How do they move without any bones?

(Would've rather less technical q's seeing as they were 4-5 year olds lol)

Next time you do a talk, this question will more than likely come up again.
I use a prop to explain this, get a long thin balloon and three quarters fill it with water (tie it off).
Hold it half way down on a table so it lays bent in a place or two and then squeeze the other end so the limp end fills with water and straightens up. a simple way of describing hydraulic pressure visually.

Prepare for giggles from older children and references to certain anatomy though, all part of the fun in teaching though .

[Leanne King-Smith]

Next time you do a talk, this question will more than likely come up again.
I use a prop to explain this, get a long thin balloon and three quarters fill it with water (tie it off).
Hold it half way down on a table so it lays bent in a place or two and then squeeze the other end so the limp end fills with water and straightens up. a simple way of describing hydraulic pressure visually.

Prepare for giggles from older children and references to certain anatomy though, all part of the fun in teaching though .

Wow, thanks Colin. That's a fab idea