Using the internet to enhance visitor information

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Ned

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When I visit a zoo these days I find myself increasingly using my phone to access the internet, often to look up additional information about certain animals. This lead me to thinking about the potential of using the internet to provide information to zoo visitors. I was wondering if any zoos do this? I know about Arkive but are there any zoos that encourage visitors to access the zoos own website for information? Information in the form of commentary, videos or written text? If not, how do people feel about using the internet in this way?
On a slightly related point, I was looking at the Pallas's long-tongued bats at Bristol Zoo, while standing in front of the enclosure I had a quick look on the internet and found that Bristol Zoo's information sign was almost word for word the same as Wikipedia. Have Bristol just copied information form Wikipedia or have both Wikipedia and Bristol quoted the same original source?
 
London Zoo and shortly Colchester have apps for smart phones, but I don't know what these are like or how they are designed to be used when visiting the zoo. What would be interesting is the use of QR barcodes to link to information either on the internet or on the zoo website. I wonder whether it would have a greater effect (due to the novelty of it and young people's increasing interaction with technology) on the value gained from visiting a zoo than relying primarily on traditional signs and labels? I haven't observed this being used anywhere yet, has anyone else?
 
The apps are interesting but look like they might be restricted to feeding times / what’s on type stuff.
I like the barcode idea, it would be good if you could choose the level of information you required, some audio guides do this.
 
Over the years I have been present in several discussions with zoo staff and designers on the subject of using electronic or digital info at exhibits.
On the one hand, more information can be made available.
On the other hand, instead of watching the animals, we all watch our little glowy screens.
There is a real concern that as we live increasingly in a virtual world of pointless trivia easily available, visitors will neglect the chance for a real live experience.

Of course, as the younger generation has gone as far down the virtual road as they have, there may be no choice any more. Zoos will simply follow their visitors to the little screens
 
Ned said:
Bristol Zoo's information sign was almost word for word the same as Wikipedia. Have Bristol just copied information form Wikipedia or have both Wikipedia and Bristol quoted the same original source?
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Or maybe Wikipedia copied it from Bristol
 
ZooSam said:
What would be interesting is the use of QR barcodes to link to information either on the internet or on the zoo website.
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Excuse my ignorance if I'm misundertstanding the technology, but would that involve the user walking up to a bar code to scan it and then learn about the animal from reading their phone? If so I can't seen any advantage over walking over to a sign to read it. It would also result in a queue forming of people wanting to scan the code
 
Shorts said:
Excuse my ignorance if I'm misundertstanding the technology, but would that involve the user walking up to a bar code to scan it and then learn about the animal from reading their phone? If so I can't seen any advantage over walking over to a sign to read it. It would also result in a queue forming of people wanting to scan the code
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Not necessarily, you could get information in the form of an audio guide, thus you could watch the animals while listening to information. It could be in the form of text but would have the advantage of being easily updated and visitors could get as much or as little information as they liked.
They'd be no need to queue for barcodes as they could easily be displayed in several places, even in a guide book. Also, barcodes are just one idea, there are many ways of making the information accessible using a phone.
There's are other advantages, for example, visitors supply their own handsets where as a traditional audio guide would involve the cost of providing handsets.
 
Thanks for the clarification and expansion -I'm more convinced now. I've used the "audio stick" kind of thing (they provide the stick which you carry round) at Bath's Roman Baths and it was pretty good.
 
Well why instead of this of all this complicated technology, just go to the gift shop and buy a plastic key in the shape of an elephant for five bob? then insert it in various commentary boxes around the zoo at the relevant animal's enclosure and listen and learn about the animal you are watching, if you don't want to go to the expense of buying the key you can still listen to the the recorded commentary to your favourite animal at a one off price of two bob by inserting the coin into the slot of the commentary box, forgive the nostalgia but that is what we had at Regent's Park in the late sixties/ early seventies!
 
I remember the commentary box by the lions at London Zoo, wasn't it Jonny Morris's voice? I don't know why but they've never really been a success, I imagine they're quite costly to install and maintain.
 
Ned said:
I was wondering if any zoos do this?
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Several zoos have barcodes on their terrariums which get scanned and show the information on a smartphone. I don't know if this is really useful, though. I myself didn't see visitors using it.

In my experience, if zoo feels it must reach "difficult" section of visitors, those who call leopard a tiger etc, then best is either: talk by volunteer standing by an exhibit, information sign put actually inside exhibit, or information sign with several realistic cartoons of animals.
 
Tim May said:
Desmond Morris did the original "talking labels" at London Zoo.
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Yes I remember the voice but couldn't place it, even though it was zoologically familiar, definitely Desmond Morris, thanks Tim for solving that one. I remember a commentary box outside the old lion house also one at the elephant and rhino pavilion, can you think of any more locations?
 
TARZAN said:
Yes I remember the voice but couldn't place it, even though it was zoologically familiar, definitely Desmond Morris, thanks Tim for solving that one. I remember a commentary box outside the old lion house also one at the elephant and rhino pavilion, can you think of any more locations?
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There were a number of them distributed around the zoo in the 1960s; many of the popular exhibits had "talking labels"; I especially recall the ones by the sea-lion pool and the giant panda "Chi-Chi".
 
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TARZAN said:
Well why instead of this of all this complicated technology, just go to the gift shop and buy a plastic key in the shape of an elephant for five bob? then insert it in various commentary boxes around the zoo at the relevant animal's enclosure and listen and learn about the animal you are watching, if you don't want to go to the expense of buying the key you can still listen to the the recorded commentary to your favourite animal at a one off price of two bob by inserting the coin into the slot of the commentary box, forgive the nostalgia but that is what we had at Regent's Park in the late sixties/ early seventies!
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As I remember from my childhood, the key to operate the talking labels did, indeed, cost five shillings (25 pence in today's currency).

However, the one-off cost of inserting a coin into the slot was only six old pence (2.5 pence in today's currency) although the price could well have increased later.
 
Chester will have Android and iPhone Apps soon, although what they'll do remains to be seen.

Rather than bar- or QR codes, zoos should start using NFC technology to avoid scanning queues as reading data doesn't require much precision on the part of the user.
 
TARZAN said:
Well why instead of this of all this complicated technology, just go to the gift shop and buy a plastic key in the shape of an elephant for five bob? then insert it in various commentary boxes around the zoo at the relevant animal's enclosure and listen and learn about the animal you are watching, if you don't want to go to the expense of buying the key you can still listen to the the recorded commentary to your favourite animal at a one off price of two bob by inserting the coin into the slot of the commentary box, forgive the nostalgia but that is what we had at Regent's Park in the late sixties/ early seventies!
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I'd never heard of this before, sounds wonderful (even though not economically viable).

Overall, back to the thread, I do wonder if all zoos are doing is "chasing the new" and the long-term net effect will be that the same visitors that ignored labelling will ignore the high-tech version and those who consumed them will continue to do so whatever the medium (i.e. little net change/gain).
 
Although I don't think zoo's should rush into trying to integrate technology into educational displays etc. just because it is 'new' and 'exciting', I don't think it's in their interest to ignore it completely.

But I would share concerns that a visitor accessing information via technology would do so anyway, however it was presented. Care must also be taken to ensure that people who cannot/ don't want to access the technology are not seen to be excluded.

I would be interested to see it used to present information that cannot be easily be shown in traditional ways, for example video clips or interactive maps shwoing species/habitat distribution. Or additionally to provide more educational material in space constrained areas like aquariums and reptile houses (just two examples), where small name plaques with a few facts and figures are sometimes the extent of info available.
 
Kew gardens now have an app for visitors. Although not a zoo, it gives an idea about how such an app might be used. There is an interactive map and up to the minute info about the gardens attractions.
Visit Kew - Mobile App
 
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