Up To Speed Video

The Corpse Flower Hunk has moved on to live python feeding: It's a rough mouse's life at HMNS

So much for chicken or beef.

Among the desirable menu options that have several diners going wild at one institution are mouse, crickets and some veggies.

Friday Feeding Frenzy at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, held every week during the summer (except for July 4), is quite the scene, with HMNS staff offering educational demonstrations about the diets of some of the creatures that call the museum home, including green tree pythons, giant bullfrogs, praying mantises, centipedes, tarantulas and the Cockrell Butterfly Center's resident iguana, Charo.

"These mice are about the size of the snakes' bodies, so the snakes have to constrict the mice. As snakes don't chew like we do, it takes quite a long time for them to digest their food."

"We have four feedings every Friday," Zac Stayton, the HMNS horticulturist, says. "It depends on who's hungry. Our two green tree pythons are hungry every week."

Many Houstonians may remember Stayton as the charming beau who cared for Corpse Flower Lois during her stinky blooming period. He explains that these nonvenomous snakes, named Ka and Nagini, are each fed one frozen mouse that's warmed up to body heat temperature per week.

The constrictors take about seven days to digest their meal.

"You can see that the snakes are not that big around," Stayton says. "These mice are about the size of the snakes' bodies, so the snakes have to constrict the mice. As snakes don't chew like we do, it takes quite a long time for them to digest their food."

In this "Up To Speed" segment sponsored by Cadillac, host Nicole Hickl explores this family-friendly event.

Watch the video above, which includes GoPro point-of-view footage of Stayton feeding the pythons as they grab their rodents and begin their delicious repast. Yum!

The green tree pythons are fed one mouse each per week.

Friday Feeding Frenzy

Photo by Joel Luks

The green tree pythons are fed one mouse each per week.

giddy up

Welcome the Year of the Horse at these 10 Houston Lunar New Year events

A performance of The Big Swim by Houston Grand Opera

Photo by Lynn Lane

Houston Grand Opera and Asia Society Texas team up to present The Big Swim

February 17 marks the Lunar New Year. Mostly observed in Asian countries and places with large diasporas like Houston, it's a time of feasts, performances, and cultural exchange. Houston always pulls out all the stops with a wide variety of attractions and gatherings. Here are 10 places in Houston hosting events during the Lunar New Year worth checking out.

Saturday, February 7

Otaku Food Festival
What would an Asian celebration be without a little anime? The Otaku Food Festival combines Asian pop culture with street food from all across the continent to ring in the year of the fire horse. Sumo bouts, cosplay contests, and photo ops with anime voice actors will all be part of the celebration at the Karbach Brewing Co. Free admission. 11 am.

Lunar New Year Storytime with author Monique Truong
Houston author Monique Truong reads from her new children's book Mai’s Áo Dài, which explores the way her Vietnamese family has celebrated the Lunar New Year over the course of her life, including once they came to the United States as refugees after the Fall of Saigon. The bestselling essayist and author will also take questions on her creative process, storytelling style, and her upcoming works. Experience this intimate look at the Lunar New Year from one of the city's finest writers. 3 pm.

Saturday, February 14

Discovery Green Performers and Market
One of Houston's best free Lunar New Year events is always the celebration at Discovery Green. The Anheuser-Busch Stage will host Lee’s Golden Dragons as they maneuver their glow-in-the-dark dragon through acrobatic leaps. Traditional drum and dance shows by Han Narea and Dance of Asian America are also scheduled. Food, toy, and craft vendors of traditional Asian goods will fill the park grounds. 7 am.

Downtown Houston Lunar New Year Festival
Market Square hosts an elaborate Lunar New Year festival from noon to dusk perfect for families. Lion dancers, food, and vendors will all on on site, as well as a live DJ, and cultural workshops by Young Audiences of Houston. Like Discovery Green, this is a free event, and an intrepid group might be able to hit both on the same day! 12 pm.

Lunar New Year at the Children's Museum Houston
When it comes to education and crafts for kids, the Children's Museum Houston always has great programing. Lion dancers, diabolo yo-yo performers, an interactive storybook produced by Houston Grand Opera, and puppet crafts are just some of the activities included with general admission for one weekend. Be sure to check out the Asian pagodas in the nearby McGovern Gardens while visiting. 9 am (Also open Sunday, February 15).

Katy Asian Town (KAT) LunarFest
Among the city's most underrated celebrations, the theme of this year's LunarFest is "Fortune Rides With You," a fitting sentiment for the year of the horse. In addition to the usual lion and dragon dancers, food stalls, and musical shows, the fair contains a five element (wu xing) game zone filled with crafts and competitions as well as an adult fashion show. Free admission. 11 am (also open Sunday, February 15).

Friday, February 20

The Big Swim at Asia Society Texas
Asia Society Texas and the Houston Grand Opera will once again present the operatic fairy tale The Big Swim, a retelling of The Jade Emperor and the Great Race. Written by composer Meilina Tsui and librettist Melisa Tien, the show uses a contemporary setting to explain the establishment of the Chinese Zodiac. Masks and an inventive settings complete the magical exploration of mythology. 7 pm (2 pm on Saturday, February 21 and Sunday, February 22).

Saturday, February 21

Lunar New Year at Space Center Houston
If you really want to put the lunar in Lunar New Year, head down to Space Center Houston where the focus is all on the moon. General admission for the weekend includes crafts and demonstrations related to lunar science, a talk with astronaut Colonel Carl Walz, lion dancers, and a wishing tree so visitors can hang up their hopes for 2026. 10 am (also open Sunday, February 22).

2026 Pearland Lunar New Year Festival
The Pearland Chinese Association is once again hosting its Lunar New Year festival. This event has one of the wider selections of attractions, including mask changing magic shows, calligraphy demonstrations, fortune-telling and Chinese astrology, Tai Chi, and more. This is in addition to the standard lion dances and other traditional musical acts. 11 am.

Live at Live Oak: Celebrating Lunar New Year
Memorial Park Conservatory is hosting a demonstration of traditional Chinese performance art, including the Unity Dragon and Lion Dance Troupe, as well as Rice University student Mika Chang demonstrating her skill with the diabolo yo-yo. While the show is upbeat and energetic, it won't have the crowds and bustle of the other festivals, which makes it a good choice for the overstimulated who want a more low-key celebration. 4 pm.

festivals performing-arts lunar new year

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