SSSNAKES ALIVE!

News article 16 Sep 2014
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Experts from LSTM’s Alistair Reid Venom Research Unit have contributed to an exhibition that will be opening at World Museum Liverpool later this week.

Sssnakes Alive! Will open on Friday 19th September until 22nd February 2015 and explores the biology, behaviour and habitats of different kinds of snakes.

Visitors to the free, family friendly exhibition will come face to face with live specimens, including a boa constrictor and a royal python, learn about the importance of conservation and discover what life is like in countries where encounters with deadly snakes are a daily occurrence.

Objects on display include a Burmese python skeleton, a red spitting cobra and stunning photographs of snakes from around the world.

There are audio visual and interactive elements to captivate and engage all the family. Visitors can explore the Field Lab and Discovery Zone, learning about the vital work scientists do to understand the power of snake venom and the important task of developing anti-venom.

Children can dress up in snake camouflage, get involved in a giant game of Snakes & Ladders and take a quiz to test their snake knowledge!

The exhibition has been put together by Blue Tokay with assistance from LSTM and National Museums Liverpool and throughout the exhibition activities will be put together with the help of Exo Teach Ltd (exotic animal education, welfare and captive management) and the North Wales Reptile and Raptor Sanctuary (NWRR).

The Venom Research Unit was formed at LSTM following the appointment of Dr Hugh Alister Reid’s appointment in 1963, and was renamed the Alistair Reid Venom Research Unit in commemoration of his Death in 1983. Under the leadership of the Unit’s current head, Dr Robert Harrison, it houses the largest number of venomous snakes in any European research institution and its scientific objectives remain to carry out research to improve the treatment of envenoming.

For more details on the exhibition, please visit: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/snakes.