Most of the kids are like from five to 10 years old. In theory boys and girls both LOVE the herps (short for herptiles, from the Greek for "crawly things").
Personally I understand your fears. We rarely are told any good stories about snakes, usually only, "The only good snake is a dead snake", or,"They will chase and kill you.
For short i`ve been doing herp programs for the last 12 years, and thousands of kids and adults have learned that there is absolutly no reason to arbitrarilly kill a snake. To a great extent I use the same behavior modification techniqeus on snakes as I use on birds, people and other animals. Mainly positive reinforcement and the Golden Rule. later, Pete