Introduction to the Rainbow Serpent:

For years, wondrous and terrifying accounts of land and water-dwelling creatures were brought back by sailors and early explorers. These mythical tales turned active imaginations into believing the stories were indeed fact!

Specific details about legendary poisonous snakes of Australia could lend themselves to the creation of mythological creatures. Twenty of the world’s most poisonous snakes reside on the continent. The deadliest of these are the Inland Taipan and the King Brown. A few drops of venom from the Taipan are potent enough to kill 12 adults if medical attention is not received within a few hours.

The fangs of these snakes are relatively small in comparison to other poisonous snakes worldwide. They are designed to penetrate just below the skin and are not more than 5 to 6 millimeters in length.

King Browns are not as eager to attack as the Taipan, but will obviously bite if stepped upon by a careless hiker!

Now, you create your own ‘mythical’ creature after investigating ‘serpents and monsters too terrible to mention!’

Vocabulary:

• mythology
• venom

Materials:

• resource books of mythological creatures
• art materials
• a variety of photographs/pictures of reptiles
• journals to record observations, note taking

Preparation:

• Investigate present day legends of serpents and creatures unexplained. (i.e.,Loch Ness Monster)
• Explore the myth of mermaids and manatees to understand how imagination can create ‘reality’ until it is explained.
• Bizarre perceptions are possible if one chooses to describe ordinary reptiles with detailed imagination.

Procedure:

• Visualize a mythical serpent. (A mythical serpent is one that is created in the mind and never lives outside the mind) Create and describe the creature to your class.
• Volunteer to describe your serpents. Discuss present day stories of creatures and determine if they are real or imaginery.
• Divide into groups of three or four. You are off on a journey to a newly discovered land. You are to write as accurate a description of a creature you discover as you can. Produce a single written description.
• Have the crew members of the different crews find out as much as they can about their reptile’s actual appearance, behavior, and habitat. Use references and study a variety of pictures of these reptiles.
• Each group member will contribute two to three lines of description, forming a characteristic of the serpent.
• Exchange descriptions with another crew. Design/draw an image of the creature as it appears to the group.
• Reveal the true picture of the reptile upon completion of the sketches of the ‘creature.’

Analyze and Conclude:

• Identify three mythical creatures that may have been inspired by a real animal; then identify the real animal in each case.
• Describe what the mythical creature is supposed to be able to do that the real animal cannot.

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