The Kalona Public Library invites the public to meet their newfound animal friends at  an open house event Tuesday.

The community is welcome to stop by the library from 6-8 p.m. to observe different geckos, tegus, monitors, tortoises, snakes, tarantulas and more. Local resident Josh Haynes is the owner of all the animals that will be presented. Over the past few months, Kalona Library Director of Youth Services Olivia Kahler has been traveling to Kids Country Club Daycare with Haynes to show different animals to the children. Haynes shares why he continues to show his animals to the public, “It’s the initial teaching of the children and teaching of the people to understand these animals so they don’t think that all reptiles are bad. If I say to somebody, ‘Tell me a snake,’ everyone is going to say ‘rattlesnake’. Then they associate that all snakes are venomous or dangerous or that they can kill you and they’re slimy. Then they figure out ‘Oh, these things aren’t really that dangerous,’ or ‘They’re not slimy,’ and it’s all about how we perceive them. I like teaching people that not everything is what you think it is and not everything is bad.”

Haynes is originally a resident of New Mexico where he started breeding and selling animals at the age of 10. He later owned a reptile shop and assisted local police and fire departments in the city of Alamogordo with training in animal handling. Haynes emphasizes that all the animals being brought to the library are safe to handle and good around people. A freewill donation is accepted for animal care taking. For more information visit here.