ZoOLogy > Meet the OLogist: Chris Raxworthy

KID'S VOICE: What does a herpetologist do?

CHRIS RAXWORTHY: Wow. What does a herpetologist do? Well, herpetology is a big, fancy word, but it really means the study of reptiles and amphibians.

And reptiles are things like lizards and snakes and turtles. They have scales on them on their bodies. And they have a backbone.

And amphibians are frogs and salamanders and these weird amphibians that look really like worms. They're called caecilians. But they have usually a soft, wet skin, and they can breathe through their skin. They also have backbones and mouths and eyes, but they don't have scales. And they also don't have hard-shelled eggs.

KID'S VOICE: What do you like most about being a scientist?

CHRIS RAXWORTHY: What I like most about being a scientist is that everyday it's kind of like a fun adventure. You're exploring things, asking questions. If you're interested in something you can chase it down. And it's really kind of like a dream job. I mean, the fact that you're basically doing things that are really interesting to you and actually getting paid for it. I mean, that's like, wow! That's got to be the coolest job.

KID'S VOICE: What is your favorite place or object in the Museum?

CHRIS RAXWORTHY: My favorite place in the museum, I think, is the Hall of Biodiversity. And I love going into the rainforest section of the hall. Because it reminds me of all the rainforests I've seen in places like Madagascar and Papua New Guinea and Vietnam, for example. And so just going into that area, it's like, you know, takes you back to those other places you've been to.

And it's also fun, because it's been lit in a rather dark way. So it's like as the forest would be, just as it's getting towards dark. And that means you have to use your eyes and let your eyes adjust a little bit, to see some of the cool things in there.

So one of the neat things-- I love, for example, taking my own kids through the forest and the exhibit there. There is a large male gorilla hiding in that forest. But it's almost impossible to see him. Most of the people that walk through that diorama never actually see the gorilla.

KID'S VOICE: How did you figure out what you wanted to be when you grew up?

CHRIS RAXWORTHY: So when I was very young-- I was like four years old-- I started drawing pictures of frogs and snakes and lizards. My mother actually kept them, because she knew that this was something I was really interested in. And just when I was a little bit older, I started actually seeing them out in the wild, catching my first toads and newts, and I remember that very clearly. And it was so exciting that I started to read books about them and watch television shows.

And by my teenage years, I was really certain I wanted to do something, a job that would actually include them-- you know, whether that was going to be working in a zoo, or maybe a pet shop. I wasn't quite sure then. But then when I went to university and actually saw scientists that were zoologists, I thought, that's where I really want to be. I want to be a zoologist.

KID'S VOICE: If you weren't a scientist, what would you be?

CHRIS RAXWORTHY: The other dream I had when I was a kid is that I loved also skateboarding. So when I was a kid, skateboarding was a huge craze. And I got into it very early on. And I have to say that skateboarding is something I still do to this very day. In fact-- in my office here-- I always keep some of my skateboards around here. I have about 50 in my collection now.

But it's great fun sometimes just to jump on the skateboard and remember what it's like to be a kid cruising around on the trails around Central Park and on the sidewalks. And we even have some very long corridors here in the museum, which are just perfect for skateboarding. And occasionally, even some of the guards have seen me skateboarding around the elephants in the Hall of African Peoples.

KID'S VOICE: What is your advice to kids who want to be scientists?

CHRIS RAXWORTHY: Well, my advice to kids that want to be scientists is-- the key thing is you just have to have that real passion and drive. So just start to learn about the things that you're interested in. You know, read books. Check out stuff on the internet. Try and find people that work in that field that you can talk to, maybe at your local museum, or at universities.

And really start to get a good understanding and knowledge. But the things that really interest you-- because that's the key thing, is that once you already have a really strong background knowledge that has come from you, that will really help you as you then take classes and progress.

And then the second thing is that you'll need to go to college and take classes, including classes in all sorts of other subjects. And so that will help you to be an even better specialist in the field that you're interested in.

KID'S VOICE: What is your advice to kids who think that science is boring?

CHRIS RAXWORTHY: My advice is, if you're feeling like it's boring, then try a different way of learning about science or understanding it. Or maybe even try an area of science. There's so many different types of science. Whether we're talking about engineering, or astrophysics, or cell biology, or chemistry. All these different subjects, they have different skill sets that they need. So you might not like some areas of science, and you might have a passion for others.

KID'S VOICE: What is your favorite kids' book.

CHRIS RAXWORTHY: My favorite kids' book is "Lord of the Rings" and another book that was published even before that by the same author, which is "The Silmarillion." And it's an amazing series of books. Of course, most people now will be familiar with the films, "The Lord of the Rings." But I read those books when I was, I think, 11, 12 years old, and they were, like-- yeah, just fantastic.

KID'S VOICE: What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

CHRIS RAXWORTHY: I love ice cream, so-- but this is a flavor you don't see very often in the states. But I do love Rum and Raisin.