Episode 6: Why Are Moray Eels' Faces So Long?
Hosts Mike and Chanel answer Agatha’s question about eels with help from actor Derrick Baskin, and explore fascinating eel facts along the way!
Watch the Episode
Discover how eels live and move, what makes them so unique, and more fascinating eel facts!
Watch the Episode
Discover how eels live and move, what makes them so unique, and more fascinating eel facts!
Zooquarium Educational Activities
Bonus Video!
This bonus episode features more of Mike and Chanel’s conversation with Derrick Baskin all about EELS!
They continue their conversation about eels, the experience of performing on stage for kids, and embodying all different types of animals. PLUS, Chanel and Mike share their own experiences acting on stage for a live audience.
This bonus episode features more of Mike and Chanel’s conversation with Derrick Baskin all about EELS!
They continue their conversation about eels, the experience of performing on stage for kids, and embodying all different types of animals. PLUS, Chanel and Mike share their own experiences acting on stage for a live audience.
Our Featured Guest
Derrick Baskin is a Grammy and Tony Award-nominated actor best known for his performance as Otis Williams in the Broadway hit Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations. His Broadway credits include Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Memphis the Musical, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His television and film appearances include Law & Order: SVU, The Good Lord Bird, The Offer, and Marshall. As a former cast member of The Little Mermaid, he feels uniquely qualified to talk about life under the sea…including eels.
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MEET OUR HOSTS
MIKE BENNETT
He/Him
An artist, educator, and immersive space designer, Mike turns old buildings, house-paint and plywood into cartoon worlds with animal education and creativity at the helm. Mike brings his colorful characters to life to help curious kids (and kids at heart!) learn, laugh, and explore the world around them. Whether its cryptids, dinosaurs, ocean-life or lawn alphabets, Mike is always ready to tackle his next creative endeavor!
CHANEL HASON
She/Her
Chanel is a marine biologist, environmental educator, and lifelong animal lover who yearns to understand, and teach about, the natural world around us. She has led hands-on marine science programs in Puerto Rico for Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment, represented the United States at the Miss Scuba International pageant in Malaysia, and now serves as Director of Outreach & Community Relations for the Elakha Alliance, where she’s helping restore Oregon’s sea otter population. Chanel shares her passion for wildlife and conservation through fun, curious, and inspiring conversations.
Agatha asks: Why Are Moray Eels' Faces So Long? Seriously - they're SO LONG! But why? Mike and Chanel answer Agatha's question with the help of actor Derrick Baskin, who played Jetsam in Disney'sThe Little Mermaid on Broadway. Together, they discuss scientific facts about eels in addition to learning how Derrick embodied one of fiction's most famous eels for a live audience.
Derrick Baskin is a Grammy and Tony Award-nominated actor best known for his performance as Otis Williams in the Broadway hit Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations. His Broadway credits include Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Memphis the Musical, andThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His television and film appearances include Law & Order: SVU, The Good Lord Bird, The Offer, and Marshall. As a former cast member of The Little Mermaid, he feels uniquely qualified to talk about life under the sea…including eels.
Be sure to download quizzes, activity sheets, and bonus materials, upload YOUR art, and submit YOUR animal questions!
- Visit Derrick's website
- Follow Derrick on Instagram: @derrick.baskin
- Learn about the Portland Aquarium
- Shop the Mike Bennett Studios store
- Follow us on Instagram: @thezooquarium
- Follow Mike on Instagram: @mikebennettart
- Follow Mike on TikTok: @mikebennettart
- Subscribe to the Mike Bennett Studios YouTube Channel
- Follow Chanel on Instagram: @pschanel
- Learn about The Elakha Alliance: elakhaalliance.org
The Zooquarium releases episodes about different animals every other Tuesday with bonus content for each episode the following week. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you’re informed when new episodes come out! Video versions are available on YouTube, Spotify, and here at thezooquarium.com/podcast
Credits
- Hosted by: Mike Bennett & Chanel Hason
- Guest: Derrick Baskin
- Produced & Edited by: Jon Richardson
- Music by: Gretchen Lohse & Thomas Hughes of Carol Cleveland Sings
- Intro Animation by: Silas Bell & Kyle Bell of Castle Animation
- Artwork by: Fuzzzbrain
Special thanks to: Agatha & Agatha's family, Derrick Baskin, Tyler Maynard (Flotsam), Michele Kraus Bennett, Cayley Pater, The Elakha Alliance, Teddy Albertson, eels in general
Footage of the Rose City Raindrops courtesy of the Rose City Raindrops. Video filmed by Dane Sawyer.