Scientists Don't Say "Ew": How Animal Presentations Open Paths for Conservation

To an outsider, Texas’ Blackland Prairie might look like a boring field, or worse, a hotbed for spiders and snakes. But in reality, these tiny, scattered meadows represent one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America.

How do you convince a community that an empty lot is full of irreplaceable biodiversity? At the Holifield Science Learning Center, it begins with bringing animals to school!

Katie Potter is part of a care team for almost two hundred ambassador animals that help educate students in her city’s public school system. Join her to learn what goes into keeping pythons, raccoons, cockatoos, and more—and how the programs these creatures star in take kids from creeped-out to curious and empower a new generation of prairie conservation advocates.

About Katie

If Katie Potter has learned one thing as a docent at museums, zoos, and nature centers around north Texas, it’s that she never gets tired of talking to kids and families about natural science. She currently serves as an animal care technician at the Holifield Science Learning Center. When she’s not picking hay out of her hair at work, she can be found fossil hunting, fiddling around with her ant farm, or writing young adult fantasy books.

• The talk is in English
• This is a free talk