Do you know that today is FREE WEDNESDAY at the museum? Yep. That means that anyone who wants to can get into the exhibit for free. You don’t even have to reserve a time!

Exhibits

Geckos: Tails to Toepads

Giant day gecko

Photograph by Bill Love

More than 70 live geckos have set up residence at National Geographic Museum. The geckos represent 18 species from all over the world and include such superlatives as the peacock day gecko and the satanic leaf-tailed gecko. Through a series of computer and tactile interactives visitors can experience gecko night vision, magnify gecko toepads, listen to gecko sounds, activate video clips of geckos in action, try to spot camouflaged geckos, and build a custom gecko for various environments.

Make the most of your gecko adventure! Check out a free Family Explorer Backpack from the ticket counter to embark on a first-rate scavenger hunt or time your visit to take advantage of an up-close-and-personal gecko discussion daily at 2pm.

Can you identify this gecko??

Courtesy of Lynne Shields

An industrious Polish gecko breeder and his circle of friends have created what is deemed the latest unique result in gecko breeding. The Black Pearl gecko is in direct contrast to the albino gecko– one of the most popular sale geckos.

I recently happened upon this interesting article. Take a gander:

Certain gecko lizards can see color in dim light. That means these geckos’ eyes are about 350 times more sensitive than human eyes, which see only black and white in the same conditions. Can evolution account for the origin of the remarkable machinery that enables these nocturnal creatures to see so well?

Scientists studying the helmet gecko’s eyes found distinct concentric zones, each with a different refractive power. Geckos also have a much higher density of oversized cone cells in their retinas that are responsible for detecting specific light wavelengths. In their study published in the Journal of Vision, the researchers found that together, these zones and cones form a “multifocal optical system.” Furthermore, the refractive powers of their lens array “is of the same magnitude as needed to focus light of the wavelength range to which gecko photoreceptors are most sensitive.”¹ Thus, the various parts of this gecko’s eyes are finely tuned to work together, allowing the animal to sharply focus on at least two different depth fields at the same time.

In addition to seeing color in the dark, the geckos have built-in correctional abilities for blurred images caused by longitudinal chromatic aberration, or the failure to focus all colors to the same point. Studying these features in gecko eyes may offer clues to improving camera technology.²

Continue reading, here: http://www.icr.org/article/gecko-eyes-make-great-night-vision/

Have you been to the exhibit Geckos: Tails to Toepads? Have you taken photos? If so, I encourage you to upload them to our exhibit-focused Flickr group, here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1523566@N21/

Now, take a sneak peak at some of the amazing photography you’ll find there!

58-year-old German citizen, Hans Kurt Kubas, was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail by a New Zealand district court this past year for attempting to smuggle 44 live geckos and skinks out of the country in his underwear. Kubas fashioned pockets onto his undergarments in order to keep the different breeds of 24 geckos and 20 skinks while he the international flight back to Germany separated to prevent crossbreeding.

Although Kubas insists upon facing skepticism from the district court judge, that he had commandeered tiny protected reptiles for his own personal collection, each gecko sold would have been valued at $2,000 on the open market. Department of Conservation prosecutor Mike Bodie said it was “the most serious case of its kind detected in New Zealand for a decade or more,” and that “It’s similar to stealing our family silver.”

Kubas was also fined $5,000 and will be deported back to Germany on completion of his jail sentence.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8482314.stm

Meet “Gecko-ologist” Dr. Paul Oliver

Saturday, November 6, 2010

10am & 3pm (approx. 30 minutes)

Free, with exhibit admission

Join Dr. Paul Oliver, an Australian herpetologist who travels the world studying geckos and other reptiles, for a family-friendly multimedia presentation and conversation. Learn about life in the field, gecko biology, how to identify a new species, and more.

On an expedition funded in part by National Geographic, Dr. Oliver identified a new species of gecko in the remote Foja Mountains of New Guinea, Indonesia. To learn more about the expedition, attend Up High, Up Close in the Treetops, a lecture led by photographer and scientist Tim Laman. The event will take place in the Grosvenor Auditorium on November 6 at noon.

Dr. Oliver’s 10am & 3pm presentations will take place within the exhibition Geckos: Tails to Toepads. For details on ticket prices and other exhibition activities, click here.