The endangered axolotl, a fleshy salamander that once flourished in the canals of Mexico, is one of the lucky creatures rescued and represented at the newly renovated Animal Discovery Zone at The Lawrence Hall of Science.
The popular exhibition, featuring close-up animal encounters, had been closed for renovations since May. The more spacious exhibit will open to the public Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a members preview at 10 a.m.
The blue-tongued skinks, veiled chameleons, and chinchillas are still actively exploring their new, more natural habitats. Visitors can vote to name some of the animals.
The pride of the show is a black and white tegu named King Arthur. The huge lizard, native to Argentina and highly adaptable, has run rampant through America’s southern swamps, mostly released as unwanted pets. King Arthur was donated to the Lawrence along with five other crawlers, by Suzanne Burgess of Aunt Anna’s Reptile Rescue in Concord.
As the public science center of the University of California, Berkeley, employing 90 academic researchers who generate 25 percent of all the K-12 science curricula in the nation, this exhibition is organized for learning.
Visitors can walk away with some understanding of the role that color plays in an animal’s survival, how different ecosystems create different life forms and how animals adapt to climate change and survive predators.
“Geckos detach their tails to escape attack,” said project lead Alondra Blandon. “They have a mechanism where the bone can break very cleanly and the blood vessels constrict, so there’s very little blood loss and then the tail stays wiggling to distract a bird into thinking it’s a worm.”
The Lawrence Hall of Science is located at 1 Centennial Drive, Berkeley.
