Last week my husband was out of town so I planned something fun for the kids and I every day (Fun Mom Alert!!) On Tuesday we got to have a really unique experience; we went to see Crunch at our local children’s museum, the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery. (We have a membership to the Boonshoft, because it is such a great deal, and this was a perfect week to go because it was SO HOT outside!) Who is Crunch, you might ask? He’s this guy:
Crunch is a 165-pound Alligator Snapping Turtle and he is over 150 years old. He was rescued by a reformed turtle trapper in 1979. He looks really unique, almost pre-historic, and the kids and I LOVED seeing him. I’ve never seen anything like him! It’s hard to tell exactly how big he is from this photo, but he is HUGE!
Before meeting Crunch, I had never even heard of Alligator Snapping Turtles. Here are a few fun facts:
- They are native to the USA and are found ONLY here. Good ol’ patriotic Crunch!!
- They are endangered, and the large ones like Crunch are extremely rare because they were hunted for their meat
- They have NO natural predators. So, humans are the only reason they are endangered.
- They have ginormous scary claws that they use to tear up their food
- They don’t SWIM!! They just walk along the bottom of the water’s surface.
- They have this cool worm-like appendage on their tongues that they use to catch fish.
Crunch wouldn't open his mouth for me, so this picture is of a smaller alligator snapping turtle the Boonshoft had on display
If you live in the Dayton area, you need to get to the Boonshoft before August 4th to visit with him. I highly, highly recommend spending some time with this big guy – he is just too cool and rare to miss!
You also don’t want to miss the opportunity to have your eight-year-old take a picture while you photobomb a 150-year-old turtle. This is the stuff memories are made of, people!
If you have an animal lover, science lover, future zoologist, or just little kids like mine who love to see a really COOL animal, head on over to see Crunch at the Boonshoft! Make sure you read about his story and the hours he’ll be on display here.
What’s the coolest animal you’ve ever seen?
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The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery sponsored this post. We are thankful for their continued support of Mommin’ It Up and our community! All opinions about the Crunch exhibit are my own, as is my museum membership.
I loved going to museums as a kid, and still do.
I took my own kids, sometimes kicking and screaming to all of them.
Good mom! Good post!
UP
Wonderful trip! What a fun mom! And that turtle is so creepy cool… but, boy, does that seem like a small, bare tank for something that size and age. I wonder if he gets bored?
I don’t know, Katie! I know he travels around a lot, I imagine his “home base” is probably far more fun for him.
Okay, phew. Otherwise, I’d have spent ages feeling sorry for that big guy!
I thought that same thing!
I wonder how they figured out how old he is…?
Hi,
Will show these pictures to Mother when she gets up from her nap.
She is doing well we had a busy day yesterday.
Really enjoying her being here with me will miss her when she leaves.
Give the little ones a hug for us.
love,
grandma and judy