If you really want take your encounter with mother nature to the next level, you can participate in the Fun Hour at Entopia Penang. In our previous trip to Entopia Penang, we were really astounded by the mesmerising Natureland-a beautiful living garden vivarium as well as The Cocoon which is a self discovery learning exhibition. However, you can enjoy an even more intimate close up experience with nature. Yupe! This is another activity in Entopia that I highly recommend everyone to join. Essentially during this Fun Hour, you will be able to get up close and personal with nature both flora and fauna.

Fun Hour at Entopia Penang-Crawlies Alive

The 4 Different Activities of Fun Hour at Entopia Penang

Honestly we did not know what to expect. It was mentioned that we could pet at least 4 of the Entopia crawlies. Meaning that we could experience close encounters and touch the creatures that are roaming in Entopia. We had not got the slightest clue what our fingers would be touching. For starter, the person in charge explained to us in details about what we would be going through and the first task involves our sense of smell. We were asked to identify the different food inside 3 containers with our nose. This sniffing job might be challenging if you are not exposed to a variety of food for pets.

It is time to test your nose

During our session of Fun Hour at Entopia Penang, 5 children took part to get up close and personal with crawlies. Up next was the real task for the day. Each of them (including Jordan and Jasmine) was asked to place their hand inside an aquarium covered black papers. The children were understandably hesitant and perhaps a bit terrified. What if the creatures bit them? The person in charge assured them that it would be perfectly safe. Eventually all the children gritted their teeth and placed their vulnerable hands "into the unknown". 😂

We were asked to guess what we had touched and obviously no one knew. When the black cover was removed, we were dumbfounded to learn that we had been touching cockroaches *yikes*! Of course we did not touch those pesky, dirty household cockroaches that are infesting our houses. We touched the Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches which were rather adorable. They were of course very huge and surprisingly clean without any unpleasant odor. These wingless Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches will hiss to mate or when they are being aggressive. Interestingly a lot of people across the world keep them as pets.

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach

The next crawlies that we petted was a pair of Thorny Stick Insect. It was interesting to note the huge female was light green in colour while its smaller and skinny male counterpart was brown in colour. Yours truly me had a fun time, letting them crawl over my body. Since these two thorny stick insects were relatively big and of course thorny, our children were intimidated to allow these insects to crawl on them. Do note that its "thorns" can get hooked to your clothes, so make sure you handle them gently. If you love these thorny stick insects, you will be happy to know that they are commonly kept as pets as well.

Thorny Stick Insects

After our encounter with the pair of insects, we came face to face with the venomous tarantula. Yeah we were going to touch a tarantula which might sink its fangs to inject venom into our body. BUT...Do not be alarmed as the venom is mild and secondly if you handle the tarantula gently and with respect, everything would be fine. It was quite an amazing experience for us to allow huge spider to crawl on our hand and arms. In fact we were actually more worried about not dropping it off the table as it might get injured.

Tarantula

The finale and highlight of the day for our Fun Hour at Entopia Penang was the largest amongst all the crawlies that we had petted. Introducing the Ball Python aka Royal Python which is native to Africa. As it was neither venomous nor thorny, handling the ball python was relatively easier. It felt really surreal and awesome to let the bally python wriggle around your arms, shoulders and neck. You would feel its cold, smooth and silky scales as it wrapped itself around you. It could even double up as a handbag. LOL 😂 Certainly, it would be truly fascinating to have a serpent as your pet, no?

Ball Python-The Star for our Fun Hour at Entopia

Before we left, we were given a parting gift each-eggs for Thorny Stick insects. If you are on vacation Pulau Penang, make sure you visit Entopia. And if you are in Entopia, don't forget to join this rewarding Fun Hour for RM18 only. Though you will need to pay extra on top of the admission fee, it will worth every single penny as we can experience being closer to mother nature's creation in fun and educational way. Indeed, Entopia Penang is one of the best places for family and everyone to visit while in Penang.

Fun Hour at Entopia Penang is indeed fun with crawlies

Entopia by Penang Butterfly Farm