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Children and parents packed the Albert Lea Public Library Thursday afternoon in search of snakes, frogs and lizards when the Reptile & Amphibian Discovery Zoo stopped by for two shows.

The zoo, based out of Medford, is no stranger to these types of events.

“They’ve been coming several years and [Jamie Pastika] always brings an assortment of reptiles and amphibians,” said Patty Greibrok, youth services librarian, noting the zoo’s presentation was always a popular event at the library.

And because Greibrok knew children loved animals and magic, they decided to reach out to them after hearing about it. And every year they’ve been partnering for a summer show since 2007.

“We know that kids love it and it’s not something that every child gets to experience, so we bring it here so kids can have an up-close look at the animals,” she said.

And by experiencing an up-close interaction, she was hopeful children would consider checking out books about animals to learn more. Or even find a potential career.

For Greibrok, the best part of the experience was seeing children’s faces and watching them ask questions to Pastika, who in turn responds.

Rachel Schettler brought her son Emmit.

“We love animals and learning about different things, and the kids love books,” she said, noting this was not her first time attending the RAD Zoo show at the library.

And it was because of their enjoyment they came back.

Ari Calderon, who likes snakes, was excited to see the snakes and alligator and touch them.

“I like them,” he said.

This was the first time he had been to the show.

This was the RAD Zoo’s only stop for the summer at the Albert Lea library.