This afternoon our local library offered a live animal presentation given by several marine biologists. The kids got to learn about different creatures in the ocean and they got to see a lot of marine animals. There were clams, snails, crabs, hermit crabs, and a frogfish. They even let a few kids come up touch some of the animals. C got to pet the stone crab.

Along with enjoying the animals, we learned some pretty interesting facts as well…

• Stone crabs earned their name by how strong they are. Their left claw is used for cutting, while their right claw is used for crushing. They have the ability to break finger bones, so handle with care!
• You aren’t allowed to kill stone crabs. You can harvest their legs and throw them back in the ocean. Apparently they grow back.
• Speaking of growing back- the arms of a hermit crab can fall off if they need to and will grow back. They can also grow new eyes if they happen to lose those in an encounter.
• Large snails bite down on clams in an attempt to open them. If successful they slurp out the clams.
• Small snails have two different methods of flipping themselves over- one uses their foot, and the other is inward momentum.

The absolute highlight of the event was when they brought out a real live shark. It was a bamboo shark- not much longer than about eight inches. It was still young, and apparently that type of shark isn’t aggressive. They even let a few kids touch it. That was definitely the animal that got the kids the most excited!

The presentation was really well done and the kids had such a great time!