For kids, it's 'the eye thing,' a snake and a whole lot more

SUMMERVILLE — Two dozen sixth- and seventh-grade students in a summer enrichment camp sit wide-eyed at cafeteria tables inside Spann Elementary School as a South Carolina Aquarium educator introduces herself.

One little boy pipes up: "Did you bring penguins?"

No, Beth Claiborne tells them. But she did bring a few other aquarium celebrities as part of the Rovers program, one of the attraction's expanding educational offerings that deliver animals and education to groups who can't get there themselves.

Claiborne turns the campers loose on an interactive crime scene investigation-style game to figure out the culprit behind injured marine life. They sift through evidence bags and test water quality to solve the mystery.

Then comes the fun part: a diamondback terrapin for everyone to touch. A boa constrictor named Rosie who makes all the boys draw closer and all the girls skitter away. A small alligator and a falcon-like bird called a kestrel.

The best part, according to 11-year-old Kailah Collins, was "the eye thing," or the alligator's

retractable eyelid.

Or, if you ask 11-year-old Jason Kessler, it was "the snake, because most people just kill it, even if it's not poisonous."

But perhaps the real treat is having the aquarium come to the camp, scales and feathers and all, for only $125.

When the aquarium started the Rovers program a year ago, it expected to provide about a dozen presentations, according to public relations manager Beth Nathan. Instead, it delivered 48.

"Especially with the change in the economy, to be able to reach people and get out our conservation message is important," Nathan said.

The aquarium recently scored more than $38,000 in American Honda Foundation grant money, placing it among the top 8 percent of funding recipients nationwide. That money goes to the aquarium's award-winning internship program, Nathan said, which trains and pays 10 low-income high school kids to work each summer.

In addition to Rovers and internships, the aquarium also offers sleep-over educational programs through which groups can spend the night beside the fish.

But back at Spann Elementary, all the action is right there in the cafeteria.

"Everyone's terrified of snakes," Claiborne said. "That's a fun one, conquering the fear."