Many people enjoy the companionship of a dog or cat, but what about a hissing cockroach, miniature donkey, tarantula, or sugar glider? Come meet these exotic creatures at the Exploratorium on Sunday, July 27; Saturday and Sunday, August 2 and 3; and Sunday, August 10, as the Exploratorium presents Domesticated Wilds: Exotic Animal Pets, in conjunction with Animal Magnetism, a new exhibit associated with Traits of Life, on view through September 28, 2003. Join us a we examine our attraction to rare and exotic animals and the complex issues that arise when these animals are taken from their natural environment and domesticated as personal pets. The program for Domesticated Wilds: Exotic Animal Pets is as follows:

Fennecs (Desert Foxes)

In this event, Exploratorium presents a day-long look at some of the esoteric mammals that inhabit the contemporary exotic pet landscape. Enter the world of miniature donkeys, pygmy goats, and Peruvian cavies. Join animal educators Classroom Safari as they present animals that are often cultivated as exotic pets, but are restricted in California — the fennec (desert fox), hedgehog, and sugar glider. Learn about the natural history and biology of these colorful animals, and the concerns that arise around their recent domestication.

Stranger than Fiction: The Biology of Sea-Monkeys, with Susan Barclay
Saturday, August 2
12-5pm

Sea-Monkeys are a type of brine shrimp that have many unusual biological properties — they breathe through their legs, and have eggs than can be thoroughly dried and then revived in water, a rare process scientists call "cryptobiosis" (hidden life). Join Sea-Monkey expert Susan Barclay, author of "The Ultimate Guide to Sea-Monkeys" in a introduction to these unusual creatures. Interested visitors will receive a free packet of sea monkey eggs to experiment with at home.

Invertebrates, Reptiles and Amphibians
Sunday, August 3
Skylight Area — 12-5pm; Vivarium show — McBean Theater, 2pm

See examples of creatures that stretch the definition of an endearing pet — hissing cockroaches and giant centipedes! Join herpetologist Owen Maercks as he presents a six-foot-long water monitor lizard, African spurred tortoise, indigo snake, tarantulas, and other unusual animals from the collection of the East Bay Vivarium. Talk to members of the Bay Area Amphibian and Reptile Society, and learn about the natural history of the snakes, lizards, salamanders and frogs they will be presenting. Susan Barclay, the "Sea-Monkey Answer Lady," will also be on hand to demonstrate some of the interesting facets of sea monkey biology.

Songbird Tea
Sunday, August 10
Skylight Area, 10am-1pm

Come and experience the Chinese custom of "songbird tea" — the Sunday morning practice of bringing virtuoso songbirds to a teahouse to compete in birdsong. Sample teas provided by Imperial Tea Court, San Francisco’s first traditional Chinese teahouse, which was founded by Roy Fong, international authority on Chinese tea and traditional Chinese tea culture.

Insect Musicians: A Cultural History of Singing Insects in China and Japan
Sunday, August 10
McBean Theater, 2pm

In this presentation, local author Lisa Ryan celebrates the social history of the cricket in China and Japan, providing an intriguing glimpse into the thousand-year-old practice of cultivating singing pets and fighting crickets in these countries. Ryan will discuss the natural history of crickets, the implements of traditional cricket culture, and the role the cricket played in historical Chinese and Japanese art, symbolism, and popular culture.

Film Installation, 10am-5pm

"Birdbeat Fugue" (2002), a film installation by Geoff Adams, will run on the museum floor from 10am-5pm.

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