Slithery show and tell: Students interact with reptiles at biology open house

Dr. Norman Reichenbach and a handful of his students from Liberty University’s Department of Biology & Chemistry invited students from all areas to Monday morning’s open house in the Center for Natural Sciences, where guests learned about and interacted with snakes and other reptiles, including some who are permanent residents of the department.

“This is meant to help people learn more about snakes, maybe get past a fear of them, and just enjoy God’s creation,” Reichenbach said.

Guests were given the chance to hold some of the creatures and learn facts about them from Reichenbach and his students. In addition to the four reptiles housed at Liberty — Maize, a corn snake; Frank, a ball python; Bamboo, a brooks kingsnake; and Monty, a Savannah monitor lizard — students also brought their own pets, including a crested gecko named Dexter and a 9-foot reticulated python called Gaston.

Reichenbach and his undergraduate students are currently directing four long-term field research projects related to conservation of amphibians and reptiles, including studies on Peaks of Otter salamanders, Eastern Box turtles, Eastern newts, and Queen snakes.

Last year, national agencies recognized the work of several members of a research team in conserving a salamander species native to a region of the nearby Blue Ridge Mountains.

Liberty’s Department of Biology & Chemistry offers undergraduate degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology, general biology, biomedical sciences (pre-med), biopsychology, biotechnology, environmental biology, forensic science, zoo & wildlife biology, and zoology (including pre-vet); master’s degrees in medical sciences (online) and biomedical sciences; and a doctoral program in anatomy & cell biology (Ph.D.).