The two six-year-olds went to the Snakes Alive! exhibition at the National Botanic Gardens on Monday and they fell in love with the animals.

They also really liked the bearded dragon which accompanied the two of them as they ate their lunch.

But the snakes were the main attraction. Khin San, the boys' supervisor on the Woden Community Service holiday program, said: "They loved it. They loved the fact that they came up close".

Snakes Alive! has been going for 30 years as a joint venture between the Botanic Gardens and the ACT Herpetological Association. The organisers say the week-long event, which opened on Monday and runs until 6pm on Sunday January 19, is meant to be a way to "meet and greet your reptilian neighbours".

Kids get the chance to handle a python, for example. There are venomous snakes, but they are kept safely behind glass. There is also a rare corroboree frog, to help educate people about endangered species.

Feeding times at 11am, 1pm and 2pm, are popular times for visitors.

The animals are fed dead rats and mice. Animal welfare guidelines prohibit the feeding of live animals to other live animals - but also, according to the Herpetological Association's Ric Longmore, rats and mice can in fact kill a snake.

Mr Longmore is one of the stalwarts of the Snakes Alive! event. He gave a talk three decades ago to people at the Botanic Gardens, and his enthusiam and knowledge fired others up to make an annual thing of it.

He said that Monday's sessions were attended by hundreds of kids, outnumbering the adults.

"It all generated a lot of interest", he said, making particular mention of the kids picking snakes up and getting their pictures taken with them.

"They were fascinated".