By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

Budding artists are getting up close views of animals that slither, hop and creep the next two weeks as a part of a Hays Arts Council series titled Call of the Wild.

The first class on snakes was Tuesday and Wednesday and Mitch Sommers, a volunteer for the Sternberg Museum, introduced the children to Buddy, a prairie rat snake.

Sommers talked about different types of snakes and how they benefit the ecosystems in which they live, and how non-native species of snakes can be harmful.

He explained snakes such a bull snakes keep down the Kansas mouse and rat population and protect grain crops.

The children were interested in rattle snakes, and Sommers explained about the rattle snake’s rattle. Snakes shed their skin and this affects the size of their rattles.

A rattle snake that has a pointed rattle is likely a younger snake. One that has a broader more blunt rattle is likely older, Sommer said, because it has likely lost some of its rattle segments.

Children who took the class not only said they learned more about snakes, but some children who said they had been afraid of snakes said they had lost their fear.

“I was scared of snakes,” Tadem Unrein, 7, of Hays said, “but now I know they help the world, but my aunt said she still doesn’t like them.”

Kadalen Unrein, 8, Tadem’s cousin, said she learned more about snakes.

“We learned that the biggest snake is 300 pounds, and if they get foggy stuff on their eyes that means they are going to shed their skins,” she said.

Brynn Schoepf, 7, also of Hays, said she also was scared of snakes before the class.

“I used to be scared of snakes, but now I think they are pretty cool. … I really want a pet snake, but then no one would want me,” she said.

The children sketched some of their own impressions of Buddy the snake and then were given wooden snakes to paint.

Sommers said he tried to draw the children’s attention to the texture and patterns in the snakes.

Other classes in the series will focus on turtles, June 22-23; frogs, June 27-28 and lizards, June 29-30. Classes are 1 to 2:15 p.m. at the Hays Arts Center Annex, 1010 Main St.

Brenda Meder, director of the Hays Arts Council, said there are still a few spots open in the remaining classes. Cost for each class is $11. She urged parents to call the Arts Council at 785-625-7522 for information on enrollment. You can also check the council’s website by clicking here.