Alex Bentley's healthy fascination with snakes goes well beyond the average boy's pipe dream of Steve Irwin-like playtime. After entering the third annual National Geographic Kids Hands-On Explorer Challenge Expedition contest, this lucky 14-year-old's summer vacation will include a trip to Australia with dad, Michael, and a new digital camera in tow.

He was one of 15 winners, ages eight to 14, selected for their passion and interest in exploring who submitted a 300-word-maximum essay and a photograph taken by the contestant.

He studies snake habits, habitats, skins -- growth patterns and length. While he owns about a dozen, he documents others that he finds during hiking excursions and field trips.

It all started with a hike along a creek bank for morel mushrooms when Alex was five. "I turned over a rock and discovered a small ring neck snake nuzzled into the dirt and I was entranced," he wrote.

Alex said that his dad's calm, informative response to that first snake encounter led him to want to find more snakes at the same creek.

From there, he started to keep a few as pets, and as he grew, so did his love and study of herpetology.

He even leads his own class on Herpetology every Friday at Community School, with the help of supervisory adults and a bus driver, of course.

"All we do is look for reptiles and amphibians ... to give them a better understanding about snakes and other animals," Alex said. They hike around the creek around Hollins University, uncovering mostly nonvenomous snakes.

"It's a common stereotype that snakes are slimy...people tend to be scared of them because of that," Alex said.

His goal is to help people understand that "snakes are well-adapted, beautiful creatures that will not harm humans unless provoked." That's where the writing comes in.

Alex credits Community School teacher Katrina Wilhelm for showing him how to enjoy writing.

She "did it in a way that made it fun."

Alex and his fellow explorers were chosen from 2,500 submissions to the National Geographic contest.

It's not the first time that this talented snake handler has been rewarded for his wildlife passion: in 2006, he was the single National Geographic winner out of around 850 entries for "A Wild Place that Inspires Me."

He wrote about his grandfather's farm -- now a conservation easement, in Plano, Ill., and won a trip to Florida.

Along with his most recent prize-winning essay, he submitted a photograph of a juvenile black snake that he found at Mason's Creek while hiking.

"I set up an environment similar to what you would find in nature...the one [picture] I used happened to be a really cool posture."

Snakes aren't the only pets kept around the Bentley house (Alex's older sister, who can't stand snakes, is surely thankful for that).

Alex's turtles, a few bunnies, some rodents to keep the snakes fed, and the good old family dog keep the animal lover and his siblings pretty busy.

"It's not just snakes, I really love all animals" he said.

In response to one of the more common questions posed to a snake handler or enthusiast: "Are you afraid of venomous snakes?" Alex said: "I've had encounters with venomous snakes... I've never had that kind of fear. It's kind of an entranced feeling...I know the boundaries and the limits. As long as I try to respect those and don't cross those boundaries, there's usually peace...I don't really think of snakes as anything that would try to hurt me."