Would you hunt for snakes in your bare feet? Read on to see why there are people who do. But first, Titanoboa, up close and personal at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

I am not a snake lover. Oh no, no, no. I grew up in northwestern PA, in the mountains that Eastern Diamondbacks call home. I also lived in Central PA, a place that copperheads call home. Sometimes the only way a snake is good is if it’s dead. The only wild diamondback I saw was smashed on the road. Hallelujah. I came up close and personal with a few too many copperheads though, one of which I had to kill.

Snakes are things that haunted me in my nightmares for many years. I kid you not. I vividly remember a nightmare I had sporadically as I grew up, starting around the age of 6 and ending around the age of 22. I do not choose to spend quality time in snake houses or watching snake documentaries.

With that in mind, it is quite shocking that the best part of the whole Titanoboa Exhibit was the movie. We actually watched about 30 minutes of the movie that was playing in the theater on another floor from the display. It was incredibly fascinating to learn how they discovered and pieced together information about this beast of a snake – all FORTY-EIGHT feet of it. Who wants to meet up with him in the wild? Not I, my friend, not I.

The exhibit itself is not overly large, but just large enough to get your fill of this monster snake. With a replica of the snake to give you an idea of just what you would be up against if you came face to face with him, facts about snakes, a documentary of the discovery and process of piecing him back together, and specimens of “pickled snakes”, this exhibit is a great education for kids and adults alike.

Of course, even though we’ve been to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia a few times, we had to stop in several of our favorite spots, like the Butterfly Room and Outside In.

We also took a quick walk through the continents of Africa and Asia, eyed the resident mummy, and went on an archeological dig for dinosaur fossils. One of my favorite parts of this trip to the museum was the reptile booth. Marcus, a high school volunteer, had my boys and I enthralled as he talked about different snakes. He’s funny and engaging and made even my “tough nut to crack” kid smile a few times. You could tell he loved what he was doing.

Oh yeah! Snake hunting with bare feet? Yes, there are people who search for anacondas without shoes. Anacondas love to hide in water so these snake “hunters” walk through shallow water in bare feet because the best way to find an anaconda is to step on it. No thanks.

We recommend parking in Logan Square Parking Garage at 1815 Cherry Street and getting your parking ticket validated at the museum for discounted parking. We love to park at the very top and the museum is just around the corner.

Make sure you stop in at the Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University and see Titanoboa. On display through April 19, 2015.

Do snakes fascinate you, horrify you, or a little bit of both?