The hissing and snoring was most welcome at a viewing last week of the American Museum of Natural History’s new exhibit, “Lizards and Snakes: Alive!” But it was the look, not the sound, of the creatures that seemed to impress guests, 275 members and friends of the museum’s Junior Council.

“I really like the blue-tongued skink because it has the most incredible contrast of colors,” one of the Junior Council co-chairwomen, Dana Wallach Jones, said. And just how blue is that tongue? “It’s like when you eat a bright blue Blow Pop,” Ms. Jones said, before suggesting she might re-create the effect for her husband.

Other Junior Council leaders at the event were Christy Corgan, Sarah Crews, Zachary Pomerantz, Jordan and Heather Turkewitz, and Beth and Bill Wilson. The group offers social and educational events and sets itself apart by accommodating a mix of singles and married couples. One reason for the diversity is that people tend to stay affiliated with the group for a long time. Steering committee members Zach and Kristina Fink have good reason to be loyal: They met at a Junior Council event.

Back to the squamates, who derive their scientific name from the Latin word for scaled. “This lizard here, when it bites you, the protein in its venom protects you from Lyme Disease,” Ms. Turkewitz, who was carrying a lizard skin purse she bought on Ebay, said.

Megan Judge liked the green mamba snake. “It’s beautiful but deadly,” she said. But it was a snake from the past that occupied her mind at the outdoor reception held after the viewing: a boa constrictor named Squeeze that belonged to her little brother Stephen. She remembered how it ate mice, which her mother would pick up at Albertson’s. The snake ate fuzzies first – mice that had just grown hair. “As it got older, it graduated into older, bigger mice,” she said. “It was so disturbing.” More horrifying were Squeeze’s repeated escapes from Stephen’s room. “It met a horrible demise. On one of its adventures it ended up under a stove and it cooked itself,” Ms. Judge said.

Such experiences were far from the minds of Kari and Dan Bley as they discussed their favorite creature in the exhibit, the gecko. “It’s cute and playful. It doesn’t look like it’s going to eat me,” Ms. Bley said. And yes, they’d consider having one as a pet. “It’s landlord friendly – not like your Gila Monster,” she said, referring to another lizard on exhibit.

The host of the History Channel’s “Digging for the Truth,” Joshua Bernstein, admired the red-spitting cobra. Of course, he doesn’t need to visit the museum to see exotic creatures. For his television show about archeology, he’s traveled around the world. But supporting the museum is important because it’s where he got his start. “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. Roy Chapman Andrews is a role model of mine,” Mr. Bernstein said of the famous explorer who brought back fossil dinosaur eggs to the museum, for which he served as director. “As a fellow explorer and adventurer I appreciate the heritage of the museum,” Mr. Bernstein said.