Science Center

so, i have a part time job now. very part time. like 8 hours a week... i work every saturday and sunday from 10am-2pm. woohoo! but it is a foot in the door nonetheless! a paying job at the Nature Science Center, which i have been told by many volunteers there, is hard to come by. I have high hopes that this will lead to a much more significant job  in the future, and if not, it is a hell of a thing to put on my resume! my actual job consists of helping organize the volunteers on the weekends, and make sure everything is running smoothly. the best description i have found has been able to describe me as a firefighter, and my primary job is to wander around the zoo and be available for any problems that arise, and solve them. it is pretty damn awesome.

during my training last week, i was able to come in early in the morning and help the keeper's out, and see what they do. they said it was because they wanted me familiar with the staff and animals, but knowing what i am actually doing for this job, it seemed rather useless... (unless they are secretly going to give me a better job later!). but i got to do some cool stuff, mostly just cleaning, and feeding, but still pretty neat. got to interact with the gibbons, and howler monkeys, and go through their enclosures with a keeper, so it was really cool. 

now, onto the more important stuff. the animals i interact with! a selection is in this post, but all of the pictures i have taken this past weekend, trying to encompass most things, are on a Picasa Web Album.
I'll be taking more photos whenever i think of it and have the chance. will try to get some of the tigers there, and some of the cooler animals, like the otters, and coati. :)

9-banded armadillo. they just let it run around in the morning and eat outside of it's enclosure. so neat to walk in and see that.

some rough looking screech owls that are not on display. it is far too bright in the place they are kept.

prehensile tale skink.

farm area. i had to clean it one morning. i now avoid it. my least favorite part that i have to interact with, because there is always a volunteer there.

a boa constrictor named adolf. 'nuff said

this is a wall of stuff i get to take out (except the last big case, that is a burmese python). ferrets, guinea pigs, rabbits, hairy armadillo, domestic rats, and a skunk (minus her scent glands)

our skunk, who is very sweet. still don't remember her name

a gibbon, doing gibbon things. more photos are on the album!