World of Reptiles comes to Wheeling

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A 40-pound African tortoise is just one of the wild things kids can meet when Dave DiNaso’s Traveling World of Reptiles visits Indian Trails Public Library Jan. 28. | Sun-Times Media file photo

Updated: January 20, 2012 11:12AM

Kids will discover that some creatures we think of as “creepy-crawly” have important purposes when Dave DiNaso’s Traveling World of Reptiles visits Indian Trails Public Library, 355 S. Schoenbeck Road, Wheeling, at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28.

“I’m not there to convince them to like spiders and snakes,” DiNaso said, “but understand why they are valuable to them and to the environment.”

Kids can pet a 150-pound Burmese python, 40-pound African tortoise, 5-1/2-foot monitor lizard, 4-1/2-foot iguana, or an alligator or tarantula. DiNaso stresses that kids should not attempt to pet other animals like these. “I tell them that it is very unusual for animals to be this docile,” he said. “The reason they are is because I raised them from the time they either hatched or, in the case of live births, when they were born.”

Tickets will be given out 30 minutes before the program.

For details, call (847) 459-4100 or visit www.indiantrailsibrary.org.

Great date

Fathers and their girls, in kindergarten through fifth grade, are encouraged to wear ’50s attire to a Daddy-Daughter Dance, 7-9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10 at Barbara Rose School, 61 W. Penny Road, South Barrington. The event includes dancing, refreshments and a souvenir photo. Cost is $48 per couple, $15 per additional daughter. Register by Feb. 3.

Call (847) 381-7515 or visit www.sbpd.net.

Happy New Year — again

Children ages 2-5, accompanied by an adult, will learn about Chinese New Year traditions, 10-11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25 at Lake County Discovery Museum, Ill. 176 west of Fairfield Road, Wauconda. They’ll even make a Chinese New Year dragon. Cost is $6 per adult, $2.50 per child, free to ages 3 and younger. Register by Jan. 24.

For details, call (847) 968-3321 or visit www.lcfpd.org.

Trial separation

Prepare your youngsters for preschool or kindergarten by taking them to On My Own, 10-10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25 at Ela Area Public Library, 275 Mohawk Trail, Lake Zurich. You can browse the stacks while your children, ages 3-1/2 to 5, attend the storytime.

For details, call (847) 438-3433 or visit www.eapl.org.

Safety measures

Stories about bullying — and how to handle it — will be read at the Sticks and Stones Week Storytime, 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 26 at Deer Park Town Center Barnes and Noble, 20600 N. Rand Road. There will also be a craft project and a snack.

For details, call (847) 438-7444 or visit www.barnesandnoble.com.