Kelly Elementary School Gets a Lesson on Spider Monkeys

The rainforests are filled with wonderful creatures but today’s presentation at Kelly Elementary School was all about monkeys. The Spider Monkey to be specific. The students were excited to learn all about their habits in the rainforest. Here are some of the questions and answers that made this presentation very memorable on our tour.

Are spider monkeys predators? No they are not.  What are the largest monkeys in central and south America? The howler and the spider monkeys are the largest.

A little girl stumped Tom with this question?  At what age can female spider monkeys have babies? Female spider monkeys are 4-5 years old when they reach maturity.

The students hands were up and the questions just continued…another great question—Do spider monkeys have a communication system? Yes they do  they communicate through their barking and their calls to each other.  Also their grooming of each other is part of their communication system and the hierachy of the troop.  Usually a spider monkey is groomed by a monkey that is lower in the social hierachy.  What are spider monkeys predators? The harpy eagle and the jaguar.

We had such a great time here at Kelly Elementary and the students were a very captive audience. We want to thank everyone for inviting us to talk about the rainforest and hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Beck Students about Spider Monkeys

Beck Elementary School was the site of our next presentation. Beck Elementary School happens to be yet another school within the Shikellamy School District located in the heart of the Susquehanna Valley, PA. During the presentation, Tom asked the students to make predictions about the story. Tom further explains that after we see what happens he tells them… “This is what scientists do they make predictions and then set up experiments to test whether their predictions are correct.  So this means if you are all scientists. ” One little girl who was in second grade turned to me, with so much excitement and wonder, and says… “My whole life I’ve wanted to be a scientist – Now I am!”.  Then we had much excitement because this is the very reason why we come and present to schools…to bring excitement and wonder to young children and their dreams.

As with all the other schools we have visited, the students had wonderful and very smart questions for Tom.  “Do monkeys go in water?” asked one student. Tom answered, “Generally they do not because their instinct bewares them of the danger in the water–like crocodiles and anacondas.”

Some of the questions were fun also…another student jumped and asked, “Do any monkeys eat humans?” Trying not to crack a smile, Tom replied with a “No, monkeys don’t eat humans.” This question however started the discussion about what monkeys do eat. Questions like…“Why do they eat fruit?” They eat fruit for energy.  Spider monkeys are fruitivores.  They only eat fruit and sometimes flowers.  By eating only fruit, there is less competition with other types of monkeys because those monkeys eat new leaves or insects and small animals.  “How much do they weigh?” About 70 pounds.  There are 15-20 monkeys in a troop. 

The students also learned… “What are the biggest animals in the rainforest of central and south america?” They jaguar and tapir.

Our next stop was the Priestly Elementary School. Priestly Elementary School happens to be another school within the Shikellamy School District located in the heart of the Susquehanna Valley, PA.

No surprises here…the students jumped right in with their inquisitive minds!
One little boy even stumped Tom with this question. “How many bones in a spider monkey’s tail?” Tom even had to do research to find the answer! After searching, we all learned that there are 33 vertebrae in the tail of a spider monkey.  The tail of the spider monkey is an extension of its spinal column and is made of vertebrae like in our back.  This makes the tail strong enough to support the entire weight of a spider monkey.  A spider monkey can hang suspended only by its tail. The students grew increasingly interested and wanted to know more… “How many babies are born at a time?” asked another. Tom didn’t have to look this up With confidence, he answered, “Generally only one at a time because the babies require much care from the mother.  The babies first have to hold onto to her stomach and then as they get older they hold onto her back.” We enjoyed meeting everyone and especially answering all of the exceptional questions from the Priestly students. Not to mention learning something new ourselves!

We have had a wonderful time here and would like to share a little bit about The Shikellamy School District. The Shikellamy School District offers the area the finest educational facilities and faculty. Their mission is to challenge and excite learners to be all that they can be as responsible citizens for the 21st Century by providing all students the necessary educational resources to become caring and responsible citizens of our community.
With a theme for 2010… “Learning for a Lifetime!”…The Shikellamy School District continually proves to be  an exceptional educational experience.

Stories visits Chief Shikellamy Elementary School

Chief Shikellamy School, a public elementary school in the Shikellamy School District located in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, was Stories from The Rainforest’s next stop on their grand tour.

We had a very captive audience. The students were filled with wonder and many questions. They immediately wanted to know if there are albino animals in the rainforest.  Tom answered with, “Why YES, there are albino animals everywhere in the rainforest.” Tom continued by explaining that Albinos lack the brown pigment which gives color to skin, fur, and eyes. 

The fun continued with discussions about monkeys. Monkeys will not attack humans because they are afraid of humans.  They do not swing with their tails.  They swing with the arms and legs and hold on with their tail.  This tail is one of the spider monkeys adaptations needed to live in the canopy.  The tail is a prehensile tail – the under side of the tip of this tail has skin like the palm of our hand which allows spider monkeys to hold on better.  It is called a spider monkey because of its long arms and legs.  The fruit seed is able to stay alive in a spider monkeys stomach because their stomach acid is designed not to kill the seed.

Spidy makes his TV Debut

Yes, that’s right…Spidy, the spider monkey came all the way from the amazon with Jarrod Miller to visit The Rachael Ray Show today. Jarrod Miller is the host of Animal Exploration with Jarod Miller, a half-hour, action-packed live action program designed to entertain, inspire and inform audiences of all ages. A passionate animal lover and educator, Jarod is thrilled to share his knowledge and love for animals with a new generation of TV viewers.

Jarrod often visits Racael Ray but today was special because it was all about the Amazon. Spidy the Spider Monkey led the show.

Jarod started by introducing Rachael to an adorable black Spider Monkey. Later bringing out a huge Anaconda reptile, a toucan and a Brazilian Tapir named “Escabon” who is now Jarrod’s pet.