Kids crawled through a tunnel, ran into a sprinkler and buried ping-pong balls at the Salato Wildlife Education Center Saturday as part of an educational obstacle course.

The obstacle course was part of the seventh annual Herpetology House and followed the life cycle of a pond turtle. As they crawled through a triangular cardboard tunnel, kids pretended they were baby turtles digging out of their nests. Along the way, they had to avoid predators, such as raccoons and skunks, and other dangers, like tangled fishing lines.

Will Sidebottom, 7 of Bardstown, said his favorite part of the obstacle course was running through the sprinkler to simulate a baby turtle's first splash into the pond.

"You get wet and have fun," he said.

In the final stage, kids buried ping-pong balls to simulate a turtle laying eggs.

Will was at Salato with his friends and family to celebrate his birthday. Kids received a colorful plastic turtle as a prize for completing the obstacle course.

A number of reptiles and amphibians were also on display and visitors could pet most of them, including tree frogs, snakes, skinks, lizards and turtles. Will said he wasn't afraid of the snakes and enjoyed petting them.

"Their skin is bumpy, and it feels really cool," he said.

Some animals used in the petting zoo had been captured in the wild but naturecenter staff said the animals will be returned to where they were found. Paul Cupp, professor of biological sciences at Eastern Kentucky University, also loaned specimens for visitors to touch.

Laura Flynn, a 13-year old volunteer at the center, had a bull snake wrapped around her right forearm. They can grow to be 100 inches long and live in grasslands across Kentucky.

Sometimes visitors were afraid to touch or hold the snakes, but Flynn said the best way to make people feel comfortable is to talk to them about the snakes she's holding.

"You need to let them see you aren't afraid either," she said. "Snakes will react to your tension and it makes them nervous if you are nervous."

Flynn said hikers should never pick up snakes they find in the wild by the tail because they can swing around and bite. The best solution is to just leave them alone, she said.

"They only strike if they are threatened or cornered," Flynn said.

Other activities included a reptile trivia contest and a lecture by state herpetologist John MacGregor. He discussed some of the myths about snakes and answered questions from the audience.

Visitors could also paint wooden snakes and clay flowerpots. Conservation educator Jamie Cook said flowerpots would be good homes for toads, also known as a "toadabode," by making a small hole in the side and placing it in your garden.

About 500 attended the herpetology event and center branch manager Laurie Davison said it's always successful.

"Everybody loves reptiles and amphibians," she said.

Davison said the event is a great way to educate people about what kind of animals are found in Kentucky.

Conservation educator Kristy Straud said staff worked hard to make sure visitors have fun too.

"A lot of heart goes into it," she said.