When Claire Russo asked 7-year-old Morgan Stoudt and her sister, 5-year-old Natalie, if they wanted to pet a snake, there was no hesitation.
The sisters answered enthusiastically in the affirmative and didn't shy away from Marco, a corn snake that calls the Maymont Nature Center home, when Russo held it out to them.
"They're pretty brave," the girls' father, Kevin Stoudt, said afterward, noting that his daughters touched another snake Saturday at the Science Museum of Virginia.
The Stoudts received a personal behind-the-scenes tour of the Robins Nature & Visitor Center at Maymont on Sunday afternoon.
It's a program held one weekend a month — upcoming dates can be found on the park's website, www.maymont.org — that offers visitors a chance to see the inner workings of the nature center that houses 13 aquariums and more than 200 animals.
The program lets the park show visitors the effort that goes into maintaining the grounds and the park's animals, Russo said. "Also, to get across the idea … the grounds were a gift to the community and we're still giving the gift of the grounds and estate," she said.
It was an informative tour of areas not normally seen by the public. Russo, who is an environmental educator at Maymont, led the small group room by room.
She talked about a bluegill sunfish that is under observation because it's not eating properly.
Then she led the group into the kitchen where food is prepared, not just for the animals in the nature center but all those on the 100-acre estate.
Russo opened one refrigerator to show a plethora of fruits and vegetables — no different from what humans eat — that also provide the animals with sustenance.
Another refrigerator held even more food, including meals for the otters and the rats that the snakes eat. Otters are fed four times a day, while snakes are fed once a week, Russo pointed out.
For the otters, Sunday's menu consisted of fish and meatballs.
It was a tour filled with learning for Stoudt and his daughters. "We've been here multiple times … but never have been able to see how it works behind the scenes," he said.
"We learned about stuff we wouldn't have known if we were just looking at the exhibits."
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