America's 100 Must See Exhibits

Great Argus said:
I think the first three are pretty much solid in the top five for anyone, the other two are much debated. I do wonder about that as well, and we are currently sitting heavy in the upper Midwest, and those that aren't from that region have been at the giants. I have a fair few exhibits I'm holding out for on the West Coast, and so far none of them are in.
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I’m sure Monterey, Los Angeles, and Woodland park will make the list at some point. I think Living Desert, Fresno, Oakland, and Oregon Coast all have a chance. I wonder if Orange County’s big cat exhibit will also make it. It uses an old concept with the bridges but does it fairly well.
 
With Desert Dome in here I think Lied Jungle, Simmons Aviary, and Asian Highlands will definitely be on this list, alongside African Grasslands and Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium would be a major contender as well.
 
It's almost surprising due its immense and impressive size but Simmons Aviary is pretty unremarkable imo. It's not particularly lushly vegetated or ornately designed. I didn't find it to be particularly well stocked given it's large size either. Perhaps it's due to Omaha's extreme weather meaning many of the inhabitants need to be rounded up and removed once or twice a year.

Still an impressive exhibit worthy of note, but imo there are several other aviaries much more worthy of the must-see title.

~Thylo
 
ThylacineAlive said:
It's almost surprising due its immense and impressive size but Simmons Aviary is pretty unremarkable imo. It's not particularly lushly vegetated or ornately designed. I didn't find it to be particularly well stocked given it's large size either. Perhaps it's due to Omaha's extreme weather meaning many of the inhabitants need to be rounded up and removed once or twice a year.

Still an impressive exhibit worthy of note, but imo there are several other aviaries much more worthy of the must-see title.

~Thylo
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Miami’s Wings of Asia certainly comes to mind
 
ThylacineAlive said:
It's almost surprising due its immense and impressive size but Simmons Aviary is pretty unremarkable imo. It's not particularly lushly vegetated or ornately designed. I didn't find it to be particularly well stocked given it's large size either. Perhaps it's due to Omaha's extreme weather meaning many of the inhabitants need to be rounded up and removed once or twice a year.

Still an impressive exhibit worthy of note, but imo there are several other aviaries much more worthy of the must-see title.

~Thylo
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I would agree with this, even considering the improvements after the renovation in 2021.
 
CGSwans said:
I wonder if it's just a statistical anomaly, but we're only 15 zoos in and already the 'big 5' (Bronx, San Diego, Omaha, Columbus and Saint Louis) account for 7 of the selections. That might reflect that there's simply less depth and sheer quality in America's second tier collections.
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Also regarding this: I did compile a list of exhibits from the big 5 that will most likely be on this list, and I have roughly predicted 22 exhibits from the Big 5, 31 if we're really stretching it. That is definitely kind of the majority, but not quite to the point they are dominating it. So there's definitely still going to be a lot of competition for "second tier collections", and I don't think that decreases the quality at all. That'd be the same as thinking Arctic Ring of Life, Mission Everglades, or Land of the Tiger has less quality than all of these exhibits.
 
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Persephone said:
I would add the insect house at St. Louis to at least debatable. It’s one of the coolest exhibits at the zoo in my opinion.
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There are a lot of great Insect Houses to choose from, Butterfly & Insect Pavilion of Henry Doorly, World of the Insect of Cincinnati, InsectZoo of San Francisco, but I don't really think that they are all distinct enough to not be lumped on similiar exhibits. Since I haven't visited them personally, I'd let @pachyderm pro to determine which one of the insect houses to be chosen on this list.
 
Sorry to have inadvertently prompted this, but out of respect to Pachyderm Pro I think we should avoid trying to game out and predict the rest of the list, at least in any sort of detail. It could significantly reduce the enjoyment for everybody - not least Pachy - if the list is seen to have been foreshadowed.
 
CGSwans said:
Sorry to have inadvertently prompted this, but out of respect to Pachyderm Pro I think we should avoid trying to game out and predict the rest of the list, at least in any sort of detail. It could significantly reduce the enjoyment for everybody - not least Pachy - if the list is seen to have been foreshadowed.
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Hmm... should I delete my post on it? I did predict what's most likely obvious to everyone to be on this list. Though there are a lot more on my prediction list going on, it only reaches up to 44 exhibits in total and I feel like there's going to be a lot of surprises for me personally.
 
Emanuel Theodorus said:
Hmm... should I delete my post on it? I did predict what's most likely obvious to everyone to be on this list.
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I know it's probably obvious to many, but it still has the effect of undercutting Pachy's work.

I think keeping the number of anticipated exhibits is fine, but I'd remove the list of individual exhibits themselves.
 
CGSwans said:
I know it's probably obvious to many, but it still has the effect of undercutting Pachy's work.

I think keeping the number of anticipated exhibits is fine, but I'd remove the list of individual exhibits themselves.
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Alright, the list of the exhibits have been removed from my post. Though I definitely still think that we're not going to see a lot of exhibits of the "big five" as much as the commenter said.
 
Emanuel Theodorus said:
Also regarding this: I did compile a list of exhibits from the big 5 that will most likely be on this list:
- Congo Gorilla Forest, Bronx Zoo
- JungleWorld, Bronx Zoo
- Sea Bird Aviary, Bronx Zoo
- Wild Asia Monorail, Bronx Zoo
- Mouse House, Bronx Zoo
- Lied Jungle, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
- Asian Highlands, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
- Ituri Forest, San Diego Zoo
- Owens/Scripps/Parkers Aviary, San Diego Zoo
- Africa Rocks, San Diego Zoo
- Elephant Odyssey, San Diego Zoo
- Polar Frontiers, Columbus Zoo
- River's Edge, Saint Louis Zoo
- Sea Lion Sound, Saint Louis Zoo
- Penguin and Puffin Coast, Saint Louis Zoo

Debatable Examples:
- African Plains, Bronx Zoo
- African Grasslands, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
- Suzanne and Walter Scott Aquarium, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
- Butterfly and Insect Pavilion, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
- Simmons Aviary, Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo
- Sun Bear Forest, San Diego Zoo
- Asia Quest, Columbus Zoo
- Australia and the Islands, Columbus Zoo
- Grizzly Ridge, Saint Louis Zoo
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A few of these, especially some of the debatable ones are almost certainly not making the list. There are plenty of bear exhibits better than, and more likely to qualify for the list than Grizzly Ridge at Saint Louis, for instance. Same thing with Columbus' Australia and the Islands, which many on here consider the zoo's weakest area. The aviary at Omaha is also an unlikely inclusion, since Miami and San Diego both have what many would consider stronger aviaries. Mouse House and Sea Bird Aviary at Bronx Zoo are debatable entries at best. Penguin and Puffin Coast at Saint Louis has also become more hotly debated on here in recent years, so while I'm not saying that it has no chance to make it on the list, it'd be a controversial choice- and not a dead giveaway for the list. Not mentioned, however, but ones I had on my list of guesses are, Baboon Reserve at Bronx, Kingdoms of the Night at Omaha, Sea Lion Shores at Omaha, Insectarium at Saint Louis Zoo, and the Wildlife Explorer's Base Camp at San Diego.
 
CGSwans said:
Sorry to have inadvertently prompted this, but out of respect to Pachyderm Pro I think we should avoid trying to game out and predict the rest of the list, at least in any sort of detail. It could significantly reduce the enjoyment for everybody - not least Pachy - if the list is seen to have been foreshadowed.
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In the 50 Must-See Zoos Thread, and other similar threads on here, predicting and discussing expectations for future guesses have been a main feature of the thread. If @pachyderm pro wishes that no speculation/predicting the future of the thread happens, I, and hopefully everyone else, would respect that, but I don't see anything wrong with people talking about their expectations for the remaining exhibits.
 
Neil chace said:
A few of these, especially some of the debatable ones are almost certainly not making the list. There are plenty of bear exhibits better than, and more likely to qualify for the list than Grizzly Ridge at Saint Louis, for instance. Same thing with Columbus' Australia and the Islands, which many on here consider the zoo's weakest area. The aviary at Omaha is also an unlikely inclusion, since Miami and San Diego both have what many would consider stronger aviaries. Mouse House and Sea Bird Aviary at Bronx Zoo are debatable entries at best. Penguin and Puffin Coast at Saint Louis has also become more hotly debated on here in recent years, so while I'm not saying that it has no chance to make it on the list, it'd be a controversial choice- and not a dead giveaway for the list. Not mentioned, however, but ones I had on my list of guesses are, Baboon Reserve at Bronx, Kingdoms of the Night at Omaha, Sea Lion Shores at Omaha, Insectarium at Saint Louis Zoo, and the Wildlife Explorer's Base Camp at San Diego.
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Which is why I kinda put a lot of them in debatables. Some of them are quite similiar to other exhibits that is probably better. I put in Australia and the Islands purely because of the rather rarer australian fauna that can't really be found in a lot of major zoos. I thought Mouse House and Sea Bird Aviary is something that not a lot of zoos are really doing, which is why I put them on my most likely list.

Penguin & Puffin Coast despite being hotly debatable, I think the overall atmosphere and design of it is really different compared to other penguin exhibits in other zoos. Which is why I think they'd be qualified. I also have Elephant Odyssey on my list because I think that while there are clear aspects on why they are controversial, you can't deny the fact that they have some of the most unique theming of any zoo exhibits out there that can't be found anywhere else.

CGSwans said:
Please see the above exchange and note that Emanuel has removed this post. Let's let this thread unfold at its own pace, and let the discussion focus on what Pachy posts, not what he might or might not post in future.
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Just to compensate, I'm just gonna reply to @Neil chace 's post one last time before waiting Pachyderm Pro's opinion about predicting the list thing. Though I do gotta agree with him considering the fact that my list doesn't even really reach 50% leaving a lot of exhibits to be in, but I think everyone on this forum wouldn't be surprised if some of the mentioned exhibits (like Congo Gorilla Forest, Sea Lion Sound, or Polar Frontiers) made it on the list.
 
CGSwans said:
Please see the above exchange and note that Emanuel has removed this post. Let's let this thread unfold at its own pace, and let the discussion focus on what Pachy posts, not what he might or might not post in future.
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Or we could wait and see if Pachy wishes for the thread to "unfold at its own pace", or if he's okay with speculation/prediction. Not sure if you followed last year's 50 must-see zoos, but predicting and speculating what other zoos would be covered was a major component of the discussion/thread.
 
Neil chace said:
In the 50 Must-See Zoos Thread, and other similar threads on here, predicting and discussing expectations for future guesses have been a main feature of the thread. If @pachyderm pro wishes that no speculation/predicting the future of the thread happens, I, and hopefully everyone else, would respect that, but I don't see anything wrong with people talking about their expectations for the remaining exhibits.
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The difference is that 'America's 50 Must See Zoos' was ordered by state so you were able to anticipate what zoos could come next. However, considering the order for this thread is completely random, there is no way to reasonably predict what exhibit could come next. @CGSwans put it well, so I'll just say I'd appreciate if we didn't just start throwing out random guesses that don't relate the exhibit being discussed, and please save those kinds of discussions for once the list is finished.
 
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