Should zoos have a. Museum.

S

Strathmorezoo

Well-Known Member
Having just read that London Zoo is not going to use the old reptile house as a museum, it got me thinking. I personally think that zoos should, as long as its not of any detriment to any of the living collection. It doesn't have to be full of dead specimens. For example ,in 2012 Dudley zoo celebrated its 75th year and they set up an exhibition of old photographs and memorabilia in the education department. It was incredibly well attended and I remember one lady was over the moon when she saw a photo from the 1960s of her uncle cleaning one of the old Leopard cages.So I think that it could be very important especially for the locals and be educational at the same time
 
I like the idea of permanent exhibits about the zoo's history - I enjoy the old photos also at Dudley (Polar bear photos in the now arctic fox exhibit, I heard a family listening to grandma on her scooter talk about visiting the bears and thought how nice it was for people to share memories that way). The contrast with current use is interesting and helps show how zoos have evolved.

Hamerton has a nice photo history of the zoo running along under it's covered walkway near the tigers, Shepreth has something similar along the wall of the cafe. Whipsnade has some information about the place on the old layouts etc.

Whether a museum or something that contextualises the zoo and how things have changed, offering interesting displays and information are a good idea. While lots of people don't read any signs at all, some will and have something added to their experience as a result.
 
Lafone said:
I like the idea of permanent exhibits about the zoo's history - I enjoy the old photos also at Dudley (Polar bear photos in the now arctic fox exhibit, I heard a family listening to grandma on her scooter talk about visiting the bears and thought how nice it was for people to share memories that way). The contrast with current use is interesting and helps show how zoos have evolved.

Hamerton has a nice photo history of the zoo running along under it's covered walkway near the tigers, Shepreth has something similar along the wall of the cafe. Whipsnade has some information about the place on the old layouts etc.

Whether a museum or something that contextualises the zoo and how things have changed, offering interesting displays and information are a good idea. While lots of people don't read any signs at all, some will and have something added to their experience as a result.
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You said it all ,adds to the zoo experience
 
I think every zoo should have a museum (or at the bare minimum signage around the zoo e.g. this used to be a bear pit, but now it houses meerkats). It’s a great way to showcase the history of the zoo and how practices have changed through the years.

The best zoo museum we have in Australasia is at Altina Wildlife Park, who display numerous past animals in a musuem on-site. They have a fantastic collection.

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Photo courtesy of @akasha
 

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Zoofan15 said:
I think every zoo should have a museum (or at the bare minimum signage around the zoo e.g. this used to be a bear pit, but now it houses meerkats). It’s a great way to showcase the history of the zoo and how practices have changed through the years.

The best zoo museum we have in Australasia is at Altina Wildlife Park, who display numerous past animals in a musuem on-site. They have a fantastic collection.

View attachment 668042
Photo courtesy of @akasha
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That looks great
 
I think that we should separate the "Zoo Museum", as in a history of the zoo museum, as was mentioned as a possibility in London, and the idea of a natural history museum of sorts.

In regards to a Zoo Museum, I do like the idea, but I think that it is more "zoochat" type people attracting than the general public. Let's be honest, a history of this zoo museum is not really going to bring anyone in the gates (save for a few interested individuals), and many people would opt to skip it entirely. Contrast that to other options (such as mentioned in the ZSL thread) for play areas or such and those types of attractions actually may bring people to visit more often or even to be a member.

As for a natural history museum, I think that many zoos would benefit from that and it could draw people into the zoo, assuming the city did not already have such a place.

All that said, there are some very historic zoos, such as London, that would benefit from a Zoo History Museum, but I think the average zoo would not really benefit to the degree we would like to think.
 
I don't think that every zoo should have a museum, but I do think they should have historical references of interest signposted around the zoo. I did like the Monkey Temple at Bristol, and the old Bear Pit. There was signs and things that highlighted the past.

I like that there's a park in Wellingborough and there's still the old Zoo entrance sign.

London does have bits and pieces, like the Penguin pool, and the Mappin Terraces, plus there is lots of references to the past on the new Monkey Valley, from when it was the Snowden Aviary.

As said above, Dudley also do it.

Obviously, not all zoos have long standing history, but those that do, do seem to reference it, so I'm not sure if an actual museum is needed, but maybe a bit more, of what they do already.

I personally like it, when a collection has a memorial garden for animals and people that have passed away, who were connected to the collection. I find this a nice touch.
 
I don't think it is a necessity (what can newer collections display) but it is nice if a zoo can tell you something of its story.

I visited Newquay in 2019, the year of their 50th anniversary. For that year they had signs up in different parts of the zoo about the history of that area and what species used to be held there. I found that very interesting. Knowing what had been previously kept in an area can give a good insight into how standards of enclosures have improved over time.
 
I think most zoos shouldn't have a museum. A good museum is a completely different beast then something most zoos would be able to manage. Everyone can put a few stuffed animals or zoo memorabilia in a room, but that doesn't make it something worth visiting. I think zoos should play to their strengths and bar a few exceptions a museum type of display is not one of them.

Is it nice if zoos highlight their history throughout their site: yes for sure, but in most cases that is best not done in a museum.
 
Alwaysevergreen said:
I don't think that every zoo should have a museum, but I do think they should have historical references of interest signposted around the zoo. I did like the Monkey Temple at Bristol, and the old Bear Pit. There was signs and things that highlighted the past.

I like that there's a park in Wellingborough and there's still the old Zoo entrance sign.

London does have bits and pieces, like the Penguin pool, and the Mappin Terraces, plus there is lots of references to the past on the new Monkey Valley, from when it was the Snowden Aviary.

As said above, Dudley also do it.

Obviously, not all zoos have long standing history, but those that do, do seem to reference it, so I'm not sure if an actual museum is needed, but maybe a bit more, of what they do already.

I personally like it, when a collection has a memorial garden for animals and people that have passed away, who were connected to the collection. I find this a nice touch.
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I also like the idea of zoos having a memorial garden for animals and people who were connected to a zoo .Could you tell me which zoos do this?
 
I agree that plaques/signs talking about a zoo's history are always interesting and appreciated, but a designated museum building might be a bit much in most cases - as much as I personally would find it really interesting, I can see that it's not really worth a zoo's investment.
I had assumed that the idea of using London's reptile house for that purpose was at least partially because of the awkwardness of the listed space not really obviously lending itself to anything other than a looping corridor with exhibits on either side (which we've established can't be used for animals) - though the fact that London has so much interesting history is a definite bonus.
 
I think that for zoos with a rich history such as London (and Paris, Vienna, Berlin...etc) then museum-type displays, highlighting important episodes in the zoo's past, can be a valuable educational tool.

Of course ZooChatters are not typical zoo visitors and the average zoo visitor may not pay much attention to such exhibits. However I've noticed that the display of old zoo pictures in London Zoo's East Tunnel attracts quite a lot of attention from visitors.
 
Tim May said:
I think that for zoos with a rich history such as London (and Paris, Vienna, Berlin...etc) then museum-type displays, highlighting important episodes in the zoo's past, can be a valuable educational tool.

Of course ZooChatters are not typical zoo visitors and the average zoo visitor may not pay much attention to such exhibits. However I've noticed that the display of old zoo pictures in London Zoo's East Tunnel attracts quite a lot of attention from visitors.
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As I said when Dudley did their exhibition the interest was very encouraging, not only with the locals with visitors generally
 
In case of London Zoo, which permanently claims to lack space and money for live animals, adding a museum is not a good idea.

London zoo already has institute of zoology, archives, domestic animals farm, wildlife garden, wildlife walking path and activity den. There are also talks about adding a hotel and a zoo museum. This makes a bit strange impression of a zoo interested in everything but wild animals.
 
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