RALEIGH - Slither, slide, hop or glide to downtown Raleigh for the 10th annual Reptile and Amphibian Day, Saturday, March 15, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. Get up close and personal with live reptiles and amphibians from around the world at this free annual event devoted to frogs, toads, salamanders, turtles, lizards, crocodilians and snakes.

"At Reptile and Amphibian Day you can get acquainted with an alligator, eyeball a rainbow of rat snakes or stick your tongue out at a blue-tongued skink," said Bob Flook, Museum coordinator of special events. This event has grown in stature and popularity since its inception, and this year will feature over 50 exhibits, displays, activities and presentations.

Keynote speaker Dr. Brady Barr, herpetologist and host of National Geographic Channel's Reptile Wild, will make two presentations elaborating on the discovery of the massive SuperCroc—a 40-foot-long, 110-million-year-old relative of today's crocodile thought to have dined on dinosaurs. A life-size reconstruction of the ancient beast is just part of the traveling exhibit "National Geographic Channel presents SupersCroc," which opens the same day at the Museum.

The Museum adds a large exhibit of venomous snakes this year, including a taipan from New Guinea. Known in herpetological circles as the world's deadliest snake, the taipan boasts a bite 50 times more toxic than a cobra's. Other killer snakes on display include a spitting cobra, a Mojave rattlesnake and a Gaboon viper.

"St. Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland," said Flook. "Well, with this event being so close to St. Patrick's Day, we try to bring the snakes back to the people." Of course, Flook added, there will be plenty of other live critters and a variety of special activities just for kids.

Live crocodiles and alligators will grace the stage as part of Alligator Adventure's Crocodiles of the World exhibit. This croc-loving group from Myrtle Beach will introduce visitors to a live American alligator and a four-foot long Siamese crocodile, perhaps the nastiest of the more than two dozen species of crocodilians that call our planet home.

Museum visitors also may attend the sea turtle exhibit to learn about a creature far less imposing, but no less impressive, than killer snakes and crocs. Other unusual and colorful exotic amphibians and reptiles will be on display, including a Cuban ground iguana, a knob-tailed gecko and a bearded dragon.

Throughout the Museum, a host of special activities will allow visitors to experience reptiles and amphibians up close. Children can make their own Pasta Python necklaces, or propel themselves through an obstacle-riddled "pond" in the Museum's new "Flying Turtles" game. Families can learn how to find and identify amphibians in their own back yards, or play "Frog Hoppers" and win a prize. Anyone can ask questions of our resident experts and learn the differences between reptiles and amphibians, what defines a frog and a toad, and why salamanders are nature's litmus test.

Additional exhibits and presentations will be aimed at giving potential herp pet owners the best information about which herps make good pets, and how to care for them once they are in your house. "Burmese pythons are real cute when you see them in the store," Flook said. "But in 10 years a one-foot python can grow to over 15 feet. That can be a challenge."

The event is co-sponsored by the North Carolina Herpetological Society. All activities are free. People of all ages are welcome. Lunch, snacks and beverages will be available on Bicentennial Plaza and at the Acro Café. A special Herp Shop will offer for sale a selection of T-shirts, posters and books on reptiles and amphibians.

The Museum is located in downtown Raleigh at 11 West Jones Street. Parking is available on the street and in surface lots along Wilmington and Edenton Streets. For details on Reptile and Amphibian Day, please contact Bob Flook at 919/733-7450, ext. 503.