On Friday, I got the awesome opportunity to bring my Chilean Rose Hair, Spidey, into a day care center in Philadelphia to teach a bunch of pre-schoolers about tarantulas! Although it was Spidey’s first time out of the house and she was a bit scared, she did great and really cooperated. I could tell the experience was a bit stressful for her and she wasn’t wild about getting into her portable mini tank (she is pretty shy by nature) but she was such a good little spider and really made the kids happy!

We weren’t sure what the reactions from the children were going to be. They had been prepped before our arrival by the teachers and told that any child who was uncomfortable with spiders did not have to be in the room. I didn’t mind at all, because arachnophobia is a very real condition and deserves respect. Fortunately, we had every single child stay in the room when Spidey came out, and several visitors came in to join us as well (including many teachers!). Even those who claimed that they were terrified of spiders stuck around and asked questions about Spidey and tarantulas in general, which was a great surprise!

Word had apparently gotten around the day care center that a tarantula was visiting, because Spidey and I could barely walk down a hallway without getting stopped by a teacher or child asking us about tarantulas and wanting to look at Spidey. She was so popular! Once we got into the classroom, we were instantly swarmed by curious children who wanted to look at Spidey. One of the greatest things about the experience was that even the children who were really scared of spiders quickly lost their inhibitions once they saw Spidey. They were really surprised by how cute, fluffy, and furry she was, which I think made them feel less guarded immediately. One little girl even gave Spidey a sticker as a present, which was totally adorable!

It was hard to get the kids to settle down due to their excitement, but the teachers finally got all the kids to sit down and wait for Spidey. Everyone was so amazed when they first saw her! During the lesson, we talked about Spidey and her habits, the life cycles of tarantulas, the different parts of Spidey’s body, how tarantulas drink, eat, and poop, and how they molt and make webs! The children had some really great questions about tarantula behavior and life spans as well, and they even taught me how to say “spider” in sign language!

Spidey didn’t move around too much during the lesson, which was probably because she was feeling nervous. She had a pretty bumpy Uber ride on the way to the center so I didn’t push her to move around too much for the kids. Whenever she did move a little bit, the kids could barely stay seated because they were so curious! It’s really nice to see a bunch of children embrace spiders and be so inquisitive, especially at such an early age.

Spidey hasn’t eaten in about 6 months (chilean rose hairs are infamous for fasting), so I thought she might eat for them. I felt it would be a great experience for the kids to see a live feeding to complement the lesson I’d given on fangs and tarantula eating habits. Unfortunately, Spidey was a bit too nervous (or maybe she’s not done fasting lol) so she didn’t eat for the kids. They were a little disappointed, but I made sure to send the teachers some old videos of Spidey eating so they can still see her in action.

Overall it was a really great experience and I think the kids really loved Spidey! We had a great time and I hope that our lesson with Spidey will encourage the children to keep an open mind about arachnids and insects in general and inspire them to respect these creatures.  

Spidey is home safe and sound, and has been resting from her big adventure. She has no idea how much those kids fell in love with her, and I’m sure they will all be talking about her at home and when they come back to school on Monday! Oh, and she still hasn’t eaten the worm, so I think she’s still fasting lol.  

I hope you found that helpful! If you’d like to WAY more about tarantulas and how to care about them, be sure to purchase my full tarantula guide!

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