This fall, the Houston Museum of Natural Science welcomes an assortment of scaly skins, slithering sounds and projectile tongues. No, itย’s not a KISS reunion; itย’s the return of ย“Lizards & Snakes: Alive!,ย” a special exhibition featuring 26 species of reptiles from the group called squamates. The museumย’s recreated their natural habitats, which include Australia, Cuba, Madagascar, Sudan, the United States and beyond. One little guyย’s just an inch long; another can shoot its tongue out at a speed of 16 feet a second. There are Gila monsters, veiled chameleons, eastern water dragons, geckos and the pleasingly named blue-tongued skink. And then thereย’s the piece de rรฉsistance: a 14-foot Burmese python. The exhibitย’s rounded out by games, tons of data and info, fossils to touch ย— and, weย’re assured, some very thick glass.

Sept. 20-Jan. 6, 2007

This article appears in Sep 20-26, 2007.