Through this scavenger hunt, students will:
- observe examples of reptiles found throughout the Academy.
- practice connecting the physical characteristics or behaviors of reptiles with their apparent functions.
© Ron DeCloux
Explore the rainforest and aquarium while you learn about reptiles and discover some adaptations that help snakes and lizards survive in their environments.
Through this scavenger hunt, students will:
Important Safety Note: The animals featured on the front page of this scavenger hunt can be found in the Rainforest exhibit. On occasion, visitors have accidentally dropped personal items into the open-top aquarium at the ground level of the Rainforest, only to be swallowed by our catfish! Therefore, the front page of this activity was designed for students to complete without a pen or pencil. For the safety of the live animals on exhibit, we ask that personal belongings be stowed away as you wander up the ramp.
Ask students to share examples of the different structures and the functions they found that help reptiles survive. If students want to research organisms more in depth, they can visit the Naturalist Center on Level 3, which features books,computers, and helpful staff
adaptation: a structure or behavior that increases an organism’s chance of surviving and reproducing in a particular environment
reptile: any cold-blooded vertebrate of the Class Reptilia including snakes, lizards, tortoises, turtles, alligators, and crocodiles. This Class includes the Orders:
What is a reptile?
Reptiles are vertebrates that belong to the Class Reptilia. They are cold blooded, or ectothermic, which means their body temperature is not regulated by internal mechanisms. For humans, our normal body temperature is approximately 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. But in reptiles, their internal temperature is dependent on the temperature of their surroundings. This is why you might see a snake or lizard sunning itself on a rock.
Grade Three
Life Sciences
Grade Four
Investigation and Experimentation
Grade Five
Investigation and Experimentation
American Museum of Natural History. (2006). Lizards & Snakes: Alive! Educator’s Guide www.amnh.org/lizards