CROCS - ANCIENT PREDATORS IN A MODERN WORLD

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During a recent family road trip to Washington D.C., we stopped by the National Geographic Museum to check out their newest exhibit CROCS - ANCIENT PREDATORS IN A MODERN WORLD.  A stop by the reptile house on any visit is a must do for my kids so when I heard that National Geographic was featuring an exhibit on crocodiles our family had to go see it while we were in town.  We weren't disappointed as CROCS lets visitors sink their teeth into the history, biology and behaviors of this fascinating species through fossils, models and actual real life animals.

Crocodiles were roaming the Earth munching on dinosaurs for snacks more than 100 million years ago.  While the dinosaurs became extinct, these predatory reptiles were able to to adapt and survive to modern times.  While much smaller in size now, today's alligators and crocodiles still very much resemble their prehistoric predecessors just in more miniaturized forms.  While not as large as their prehistoric ancestors these predators are still very formidable.  An average adult male American alligator is 11 feet long and they can weigh up to 1,000 pounds.  Salt water crocodiles can get even larger being able to grow to more than 17 feet long and weigh up to 3,000 pounds.  These magnificent creatures can be very deadly so if wandering in their natural habitat you shouldn't take dealing with them lightly.

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 While there are plenty of informative placards on display throughout the exhibit, it also a very nice digital component to it.  Videos of Dr. Kent Vliet, the primary scientific advisor for the project, as well as other crocodilian experts, appear as a running thread as visitors walk through the exhibit.  There are also hands-on interactive activities to experience.  Listen to croc calls then hear what a scientist believes what you just heard means.  Create a 3D animation of an extinct crocodilian  or test your strength against a croc on a modified force gauge that demonstrates how researchers measure the strength of real crocodile bites.  If you want to do something a bit less strenuous test your crocodilian IQ with fun facts and croc trivia.

There are several dioramas on display depicting realistic models of various types of crocodilians in their native habitats.

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My son was amazed by the life-sized model of Gomek, one of the world's largest crocodiles to ever be held in captivity.  When he died at Florida's St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in1997, Gomek was nearly 18 feet long and weighed 1,896 pounds. That was one big croc!

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The hit of our visit though was seeing the several dioramas on display featuring live crocodilians that ranged from very small to somewhat large in size.  The exhibit actually let you get fairly close to the animals for some terrific views.

CROCS will be at the National Geographic Museum until May 8, 2016 when it will be rotated out for a new exhibition.  Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for Magazine Subscribers, Military, Seniors (62+), College & High School Students and $10 for Children ( 5-12 years old).  The museum is open 7 days per week from 10 am - 6pm.  It is closed two days per year, Thanksgiving & Christmas Day.

Included with our admission to CROCS was a walk through the PHOTO ARK.  Photographer Joel Sartore has compiled a gallery of portraits of endangered species with the goal of encouraging people to care about conservation and habitat preservation.  These are some stunning photos and it is really troubling that some of these creatures will no longer be alive on our planet within the next decade.

Of course we couldn't leave without a souvenir! Check out this unique personalized National Geographic Magazine cover we created on our way out. The kids picked out the cheetah theme because that is my son's favorite animal.  What a nice memory keepsake to remember our visit to the National Geographic Museum.

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5 Interesting Facts About Strawberry Shortcake

I am a member of the Fox Home Entertainment Insiders blogger program and receive complimentary products for reviews and giveaways.

In recognition of our friends at Fox Home Entertainment releasing a new DVD of Strawberry Shortcake tales, I'm sharing some interesting trivia about the adorable red headed girl and her berry best friends plus a fun coloring page for A Geek Daddy blog readers to enjoy.  Here are five interesting facts that you might not know about Strawberry Shortcake:

1. Strawberry Shortcake and her cat, Custard, were designed by greeting card illustrator Muriel Fahrion in 1977 and were part of  a popular line of greeting cards for American Greetings' Juvenile & Humorous card department featuring the characters. 
2. Strawberry Shortcake toys appeared in 1979 when American Greetings licensed the rights to Kenner Toys who at that time also had the rights to another brand that was growing in popularity called Star Wars.  Kenner produced Strawberry Shortcake dolls that had hair that smelled like each character in the toy line,s fruit themed name until 1985, which also happens to be the same year that the toy manufacturer discontinued production of its line of Star Wars toys.
3. Strawberry Shortcake starred in an animated feature film called The Sweet Dreams Movie that was released on October 7, 2006 and played in select theaters across the United States.  Fox Home Entertainment released the movie on DVD in 2007.
4. From 1980 through 1985, back in the days when there were only a handful of stations you could watch on TV, Strawberry Shortcake and her gang of friends were featured in an annual television special.  Plum Puddin who is one of the main characters in the current run of Strawberry Shortcake animated programming including the newly released DVD Berry Tales was first introduced in the very first TV special as a boy.  The character then wasn't seen again in the television specials, toy line or any other licensed products until "he" was reintroduced as a "she" in 1984 with the introduction of a Plum Puddin  doll by Kenner and inclusion in that year's annual television special.
5. American Greetings sold the ownership rights to Strawberry Shortcake in February of this year to Iconix Brand Group for $105 million dollars.   Iconix purchases ownership of iconic brands then manages their licensing to manufacturers, retailers, and television, movie and video game producers.  Some well known brands also owned by Iconix include Joe Boxer, London Fog, Ocean Pacific, The Sharper Image, Starter, and Umbro.  In 2010, Iconix partnered with the Charles M. Schulz family to acquire all the assets related to the Peanuts comic strip from its longtime owner United Media creating a new company to manage this brand called Peanuts Worldwide which is 80% owned by Iconix and 20% owned by Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates.  A 3D animated Peanuts Movie is being released at theaters across the USA on November 6, 2015.

On August 11, 2015, Fox Home Entertainment released on DVD some brand new animated adventures that provide a strawberry twist to some berry well know fairy tales.  Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Tales features some of my daughter's favorite bed time stories and if you have a little princess at home this is sure to delight her.  I'm sure little boys at home would enjoy it too.  This 71 minute long DVD is rated G and features three stories.featuring Strawberry Shortcake and her cast of friends. Please download and print out this fun Strawberry Shortcake coloring page from the DVD to enjoy:


In Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Tales, Plum Puddin learns to believe in herself when putting on a small and simple play for a young audience during the tale of "Snowberry and the Seven Berrykins".  The next tale is "Berryella and Prince Berry Charming" which focuses on guy friend Huck agreeing to act in a production of this berry tale then quickly realizing that he'd be happier working behind the scenes.  Finally in "The Littlest Berrykin" Strawberry, Lemon, and Raspberry star as three princesses on a quest to rule a kingdom that realize during their adventure that they can never succeed without kindness and generosity.

World Elephant Day - Help National Geographic Save Animals in the Wild

** I am part of the National Geographic Kids Insiders program.  A Geek Daddy received special perks as part of my affiliation with this group but no financial compensation **

My daughter has really become intrigued by elephants since she started reading the National Geographic Kids book MISSION: ELEPHANT RESCUE.  This 107 page book is full of color photographs providing up close views of elephants and their habitat.  It provides lots of interesting facts about elephants, stories about the plight of elephant populations being depleted and facing extinction due to poaching and habitat loss, and how people, even kids, can make a difference in helping save wild elephants.

After reading through MISSION: ELEPHANT RESCUE, my daughter asked if we could go somewhere to see one up close.  So we ventured over to the elephant habitat at the Toledo Zoo.  My daughter was thrilled to see real life elephants during our visit to the zoo but also told me she was a little sad.  I asked her why and she told me that it really would be a shame if the only places elephants lived were in circuses and zoo so that none of them lived on their own in the wild anymore.

Unfortunately, the world's largest land animal is threatened with a very small area of remaining habitat and shrinking herd populations making it harder and harder for them to remain vibrant in the wild. As our family's contribution to helping preserve wild elephant herds and habitat on this World Elephant Day ( August 12 ) we are helping promote the book that inspired my daughter's interest in learning more about elephants National Geographic Kids MISSION: ELEPHANT RESCUE.  Proceeds from the sale of this book go directly toward funding the non-profit National Geographic Society's efforts to support endangered animals and their habitats.  National Geographic also works to educate people so they can understand how to be advocates and take action to help preserve our planet's wild animals and places through publications such as MISSION: ELEPHANT RESCUE.

In recognition of World Elephant Day, here are also some interesting facts highlighting how incredible of creatures these pachyderms are:

• There are two main species of elephants: the Asian Elephant and the African Elephant.  The African elephant is the larger of the two and both the males and females of this species have tusks.  Unfortunately poachers hunting elephants for the ivory their tusks are made of is one of the greatest threats to elephant populations.  Some African countries are removing the tusks from wild elephants to try and protect them from poachers.

• Elephants don't like peanuts.  They don't eat them in the wild and zoos don't feed them to the animals in captivity.  My daughter was excited to learn this because due to a severe food allergy she doesn't eat peanuts either.  Prior to learning this she had been a little disappointed that one of her favorite animals appetite was for a food she couldn't be around.

• Elephants are the largest land mammals on our planet and that is reflected in how they eat.  Elephants can eat as much as 300 pounds of food and spend up to 16 hours eating per day.

• Despite their size elephants love to swim and can use their trunk as a snorkel when swimming in deep water.

• An elephant's trunk contains more than 40,000 muscles which are more than there are in the whole human body.   A trunk is very dexterous with the ability to grasp and pick up something as small as a single grain of rice or blade of grass.  It is also strong enough to tear down a tree.

• Just like you and I, elephants can get sunburned so they throw sand on their heads and back to protect themselves.  They also do this to keep bugs off of them.

• Elephants will avoid bees and ants because they don't want them getting into their trunks which are lined with sensitive nerve endings.  Farmers in Kenya have begun to line the fields they plant their crops in with bee hives to ward off elephants.  In addition to protecting their farmland, the honey from these hives provide the farmers with extra income.

• The elephant's closest living genetic relative is a small furry badger like animal called a Rock Hyrax that lives in rocky landscapes across the African sub-Saharan region and along the coast of the Arabian peninsula.

• Female elephants have the longest pregnancy of any mammal at 22 months.  Newborn elephants can weigh up to 260 pounds, a comparable weight to that of an adult man. 

FACT or FICTION: Do you know the TRUTH when it comes to a Bug's Life?

 Take Orkin's Scientific Fact or Scientific Fake Quiz

for a chance to win a Scientific Back-to-School prize pack

You've heard the myths about bugs before.  Do you know what's fact and what's fake?  Take the Orkin Scientific Fact or Scientific Fake Quiz below to test your knowledge.  Be sure to watch every clip for the scoop on these infamous bug myths.

A Geek Daddy Blog is giving away a Scientific Back-to-School Prize Pack courtesy of our friends at Orkin.  The prize pack includes:

• Clip-on Fisheye Lens (iPhone, Galazy, Android compatible)

• Orkin On-the-Go Drink Tumbler

• Orkin Drawstring Bag

• Orkin "Field Notes" Notebook w/ Pen

For the win, watch all of the Scientific Fact or Scientific Fake videos above and than do one or all of the following (Entries will not be judged) to earn up to 3 entries:

ENTRY 1 - email thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com with your own creative bug myth.  Include your full name and mailing address.

ENTRY 2 - Tweet about a bug myth you had been fooled about including @Geeky_Dad and #OrkinMan within your message.

ENTRY 3 - Leave a comment on this blog post regarding which Scientific Fact or Scientific Fake video is your favorite & why.

Contest ends Thursday, August 28th at 11:59 pm EST.  You must be a US resident to enter over the age of 18.  One random winner will be selected on Friday, August 29, 2014 (Each eligible entry will be assigned a number and winner will be selected from a random number draw). 

A Geek Daddy Blog will be responsible for selecting the winner of this contest, but ORKIN LLC is responsible for fulfillment and delivery of the prize.  By participating in this contest you waive any liability towards A Geek Daddy Blog or its publisher that may arise from your involvement with this promotion. A Geek Daddy Blog hosted this contest and blog post based upon ORKIN LLC providing a Scientific Back-to-School Prize Pack to the selected winner. Each household is only eligible to win a Scientific Back-to-School Prize Pack via blog reviews and giveaways once.  Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway.  If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification. Prize will be delivered by UPS or FedEx so no P.O. Boxes are allowed as mailing addresses.

For more information about the insects in our world check out ORKIN's resources on Facebook and its website.

DISCLAIMER:  In addition to awarding a prize pack to the winner of this contest, ORKIN LLC also provided A GEEK DADDY Blog with a prize pack as part of the blog's participation in this promotion.