Getting To Be A Zoo Exhibit Designer

[forevertulsa89]

Hey everyone, long time viewer and first time poster. I've loved coming on this site and reading the different perspectives everyone has on different zoos/aquariums around the world, the strides being made towards better exhibit design, and looking at photos of the zoos I hope to one day visit that others have had the opportunity to see. This summer I achieved the ultimate dream for myself and one, from reading past forum topics, that many on here as well are working towards achieving. I have been studying landscape architecture for four years now, one to go, with the intent of becoming a zoo exhibit designer. This summer I am getting that opportunity by interning with a firm in Seattle, the birthplace of immersion exhibits, and getting to work alongside incredible architects and landscape architects in designing some of the great new exhibits being created in the United States and the world. What I want to do with this post is offer some advice to those that might be seeking after a career in exhibit design and the things I have learned in order to get there and also to open myself up for questions anyone might have. Here is the start of my basic list and will continue to add to this thread as I continue to learn:

1. Volunteer at your local zoo: There has been no greater experience that I have had in starting out towards this career choice then by getting involved in my local zoo. Find opportunities to work alongside keepers and start to pick their brain on what works and doesn't work for themselves and the animals in their current exhibit. You learn alot in these discussions.

2. Find the right major: Most zoo exhibit design firms require a degree in either architecture or landscape architecture for employment. What I have found in our office is that the architects tend to deal alot with the general structures of the exhibit, i.e. viewing platforms, holding facilities, enrichment items, and the other general structures of the exhibit, while the landscape architects deal with much of the overall site layout, grading and drainage of the site, plant materials, and exhibit structure. Both are wonderful fields and will give you the tools needed towards a career in exhibit design.

3. Study: Unfortunately most colleges don't really have a structured path towards a career designing exhibits and this requires quite a bit of outside work in beginning to understand the overall process. Continue to visit zoos, see what works, what doesn't work, read books, articles on exhibit design, and get in contact with people in firms that specialize in this work. Even in all my studies I didn't realize how little I knew until I began working in the field.

4. It's not all glamorous: Well for me it is, but for some they might be mislead by exactly what exhibit designers do. We have all seen the beautiful renderings and designs of upcoming zoo projects and then have seen the finished product and thought I could do that. I'll be the first to tell you that you can, but beyond the beautiful drawings is alot of hard and tedious work and long hours and in order to get to the finished product you have to work through those things. I have spent hours and hours at a time detailing out the way a ramp and tunnel operates between a meerkat holding facility and the outdoor exhibit and this is honestly what you spend the majority of your time on. Laying out the exhibit and deciding what species will be there, what it will look like, the fun stuff is only a very small part of creating an exhibit, maybe 20%. The other 80% is putting the pieces together and making it actually work for the animals, the keepers, and the visitors.

5. Be creative and work hard: Creativity is the key to accomplishing a career in design. Don't ever let anyone tell you you aren't creative. Everyone is creative, sometimes some of us just have to dig a little deeper, wipe off a little of the dust, and make it happen. Don't lose site of your creative side. When I was younger I would draw out exhibit designs, master plans, build not so good models, and then grew older and played everyone's favorite zoo tycoon. In it all though I never lost site of that side of me that is still a child, that is still a dreamer, and because of that I worked very hard and now get to help put together some of the most creative and fun zoo exhibit designs that have ever existed. If you want to become a zoo exhibit designer follow your dream, don't give up on that dream, work hard, and watch what happens.

Hope some of these tips you found useful. I will continue to add more as I have time and please don't hesitate to ask me about some of the things that I have learned from being in the field or any other questions you have!

 

[DavidBrown]

Thanks for your thoughtful post. Hopefully some folks here with interest in pursuing zoo design will take you up on your generous offer of advice. Some of us armchair zoo exhibit designers probably will too...look out!

 

[boopashaboopa]

I am so excited for you. Thanks for all the advice. I was very pleased to find that I have accomplished all of your steps in some way or another. I have volunteered as a keeper assistant at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and I learned a lot from the keepers on what works and what doesn't. I cant wait to hear more about your progress.

 

[Zooplantman]

I think an interesting question you might ask your employer and the seniors at the firm:
How many of the former interns are now working in zoo exhibit design?
For that matter,
How many of the company's former entry level L.A.'s are now working in zoo exhibit design?

 

[kufri zoo india]

I am interested in designing new Pheasantry in our zoo. Any body how can help me in designing the high class Pheasantry for me

 

[AnaheimZoo]

Hi, ArizonaDocent suggested that I look up "starting your own zoo" here on ZooChat to find some useful threads to help with any questions or thoughts I had on starting a zoo, and let me just say that this really helped.
As I get older, I realize more and more how hard creating a world-class zoo from scratch would be (which is sort of what my goal is... ), and how hard one would have to work to reach that goal... Now I started where you did, as well, playing Zoo Tycoon and stuff , drawing not-so-good designs, etc., wanting everything I drew to be perfect, failing to realize that I knew almost nothing about the work that was put into exhibit design. So, let me ask you, what exactly did you study for design? Anything besides architecture and landscape architecture?
While I might not be into the financing management part of running the zoo, I know for certain that I want to not only design the exhibits, but take care of the animals (train them, feed them, do their simple daily check-ups and such) too. What else should I study? Am I going to have times where I'll be frustrated and say "oh, this design's garbage, it won't work"? Because I've had plenty of those already... Is that normal? And will I eventually get better at sketching what I see in my head? I'm not the best artist and I have all of these ideas that I can't seem to remodel well. Hope to hear from you soon!

 

[Zooplantman]

Hi, ArizonaDocent suggested that I look up "starting your own zoo" here on ZooChat to find some useful threads to help with any questions or thoughts I had on starting a zoo, and let me just say that this really helped.
As I get older, I realize more and more how hard creating a world-class zoo from scratch would be (which is sort of what my goal is... ), and how hard one would have to work to reach that goal... Now I started where you did, as well, playing Zoo Tycoon and stuff , drawing not-so-good designs, etc., wanting everything I drew to be perfect, failing to realize that I knew almost nothing about the work that was put into exhibit design. So, let me ask you, what exactly did you study for design? Anything besides architecture and landscape architecture?
While I might not be into the financing management part of running the zoo, I know for certain that I want to not only design the exhibits, but take care of the animals (train them, feed them, do their simple daily check-ups and such) too. What else should I study? Am I going to have times where I'll be frustrated and say "oh, this design's garbage, it won't work"? Because I've had plenty of those already... Is that normal? And will I eventually get better at sketching what I see in my head? I'm not the best artist and I have all of these ideas that I can't seem to remodel well. Hope to hear from you soon!

I think the fact is that the only way to learn great zoo exhibit design is to actually work with and learn from great zoo exhibit designers. And frankly there are only perhaps six in the world. And if you can work for more than one, you'll benefit from their different points of view and different approaches.
Even then, as one of the most well known zoo designers told me years ago, "We rarely get to do what we'd consider our 'A' level work. Most clients want 'B' level at best, and more often it's 'C' level. But the business has to keep going so we do mostly 'B' and 'C' level work out of necessity."

You'll need landscape architecture OR architecture to do work in the field, but neither discipline teaches you zoo exhibit design. Only the few who have done it for years really know what it takes and aren't continually re-inventing the wheel. And most of the people who work for them never really learn it well. Often they are only in the firm for a year or two. So they do one elephant exhibit and one bear exhibit but never do even one aviary or chimp or hippo exhibit. and each is different to understand.

Just as to own and run a world class zoo you'll need management and financial management skills, neither will provide the vast vast vast amounts of funds necessary to build anything "world class."

 

[AnaheimZoo]

I think the fact is that the only way to learn great zoo exhibit design is to actually work with and learn from great zoo exhibit designers. And frankly there are only perhaps six in the world.

And who, might I ask, are some of these people?

Or is that private?

Yes, it's far-fetched, I know, the whole zoo thing, but I'll at least make an attempt... So are you saying that each kind of animal exhibit is something new, which is why only six people have "mastered" it? I could see how two different exhibit designs are so different in terms of what the animal demands (enrichment, habitat, etc) and how hard it could be to perfect each one...

 

[Zooplantman]

How many people have gotten to design and build three decent sloth bear exhibits? Or three decent orang exhibits? Or three great lion exhibits? Even if a design company has done that, only 1 person in the company was on all three projects. The rest of the team came and went. So who then really knows the drill?
It's no secret (and my number 6 was just for effect... maybe there are 7.. or 5 )
But if I name them here others will get offended. I'll leave it to other Zoochatters to make their list.
In the zoo world they are all well known ("the usual suspects")

Every exhibit presents its own challenges. So if you've done one gorilla exhibit in New York, you still have to re-think it if you do one in Tennessee. But your previous experiences will make it soooo much easier. So having done more than one makes you better.

And what a gorilla does in (and to) an exhibit is very different from what chimps do. Entirely different from what orangs do.
And the holding is different.
And that's just 3 ape species!

Zoo exhibits are designed by teams: architects, landscape architects, civil engineers, animal curators, zoo staff, interpretive designers, exhibit designers, plus input from keepers, vets, guest services staff, etc.
And let me add, some of the greatest exhibit designers are zoo directors.

I'll point out that what I have written applies more to North America, Australia and parts of Asia than to Europe. Zoo exhibit design is done differently there for the most part.

 

[AnaheimZoo]

How many people have gotten to design and build three decent sloth bear exhibits? Or three decent orang exhibits? Or three great lion exhibits? Even if a design company has done that, only 1 person in the company was on all three projects. The rest of the team came and went.

Well, looks like I'm gonna have to find that 1 person on my own...

Every exhibit presents its own challenges. So if you've done one gorilla exhibit in New York, you still have to re-think it if you do one in Tennessee. But your previous experiences will make it soooo much easier. So having done more than one makes you better.

And what a gorilla does in (and to) an exhibit is very different from what chimps do. Entirely different from what orangs do.
And the holding is different.
And that's just 3 ape species!

That's what I'm saying! So imagine how difficult it'd be with elephants, zebras, lions, kangaroos, and all other kinds of animals!

Zoo exhibits are designed by teams: architects, landscape architects, civil engineers, animal curators, zoo staff, interpretive designers, exhibit designers, plus input from keepers, vets, guest services staff, etc.
And let me add, some of the greatest exhibit designers are zoo directors.

I'll point out that what I have written applies more to North America, Australia and parts of Asia than to Europe. Zoo exhibit design is done differently there for the most part.

That sentence about the greatest exhibit designers being zoo directors gives me some well-needed faith in myself. I'm not sure exactly how, it just does.
But, you make some very good points. There's endless possibilities because of all the different animal species... Do the people involved in exhibit design get an even amount of work? Or... (let me rephrase that, I know it's far from even ) exactly what kind of things go into design besides enrichment, habitat, and all those things? Anything else?

 

[Zooplantman]

exactly what kind of things go into design besides enrichment, habitat, and all those things? Anything else?

Maybe a thing or two.

This has been discussed in some thread elsewhere. Maybe you can find it.
For starters:
Does the zoo have these animals? If not, where will it get them. If so, does it need/want additional individuals? Where are they coming from?
What sort of quarantine facilities are required? Does the zoo already have them?
Is the animal a solitary species or social?
How many animals in the group?
How large is the minimum size exhibit for these animals?
How large can you make this exhibit?
How tall do the fences/walls need to be to keep them in?
Are they to be disguised or hidden? How?
What kind(s) of fences/walls work with this species?
Does the animal require special security? Can it break its way out of a gate or fence?
How well does this species climb and what can't it climb?
Do they need a pool or similar?
Climbing opportunities? What sort? Size? ropes or trees? how big? What's too big?
Digging opportunities?
Will the existing soils allow for the necessary buildings to be constructed?
Are there issues with flooding?
How will excess rain be drained from the site?
How will snow be cleared?
What sort of holding facilities do they need?
If there's more than one animal, how many separate holding areas are needed?
Of what size? Height? Long rubs/flights or more square in shape?
What needs to be in them?
How are they connected so animals can be moved from one to another?
How are the doors operated?
What size mesh is required to keep the keepers safe as they pass by?
Does the zoo plan to breed this animal?
How many animals will the exhibit and holding be designed for?
What does the animal get fed? How is it delivered? Where is it stored? Where (and how) is it prepared?
What facilities do the keepers need to care for this animal?
Is there indoor and outdoor exhibit?
What is needed in the indoor one?
Are there paints or other finishes that ought to be avoided? Or other surfaces that are durable with this animal?
And what's in the outdoor exhibit?
What does the animal do to the landscape? trees?shrubs? grass? soil?
What sort of landscape should there be? What soils are there and are they appropriate for growing this landscape?
What plants are suitable for the site, the theme and the geography?
Which plants are toxic?
How will visitors be kept away from the animal fences?
Are other species being mixed in the exhibit?
What do they need?
What sort of viewing areas will there be?
up-close glass viewing? What sort of structure will that be in?
A moat? How wide? How deep? Wet or dry?
What will be keeper/staff behind-the-scenes access to the exhibit?
What have other zoos done?
What worked well and what didn't?
What the heck does this all cost?
Does the zoo have the expertise to care for this species?
Do they have adequate staff?
Will more be needed?
How will the exhibit be cleaned?
How will the holding areas be cleaned?
How will shade be provided in summer?
If there are existing trees on the site, can they stay? How can the exhibit be built without killing them?

There's more, of course. Maybe @forevertulsa89 or some of the other zoo designers or zoo professionals on the Forum will add to the list?

Zoo exhibits are designed by teams: architects, landscape architects, civil engineers, animal curators, zoo staff, interpretive designers, exhibit designers, plus input from keepers, vets, guest services staff, etc.

 

[Zooplantman]

Do the people involved in exhibit design get an even amount of work? Or... (let me rephrase that, I know it's far from even ) exactly what kind of things go into design besides enrichment, habitat, and all those things? Anything else?

I don't understand how the first part of the question and the last part are connected.

That sentence about the greatest exhibit designers being zoo directors gives me some well-needed faith in myself. I'm not sure exactly how, it just does.

They are great because they have spent a career working in zoos, studying zoos, working with other talented people AND they have a good sense of exhibitry, the public, and zoo management.

 

[AnaheimZoo]

I don't understand how the first part of the question and the last part are connected.

Well, they kinda weren't... sorry about that. I kind of just rambled on with no real point... but you answered the second part perfectly, , I was looking for a list of questions, in fact, so thanks for that. I'll see to looking up that thread...

As soon as I typed the question about the balanced amount of work, I realized that the amount of work wouldn't be even because the jobs are different, I just never deleted that part... sorry, again.

Thank you, though. You've been a big help.

 

[AnaheimZoo]

I don't understand how the first part of the question and the last part are connected.

OH! I'm so stupid! I never asked again, I just changed the subject... Wow, I must be tired...

I was going to ask something along the lines of "who does what and why and for what reason" or something like that. I see you made a list of the different people involved and I was wanting to know exactly (or somewhat close to exactly) what it is they do. Like for instance, a landscape architecture is in charge of how the exhibit will drain floodwater, how the hills and valleys in the exhibit will curve and slope, etc. etc.

 

[Zooplantman]

OH! I'm so stupid! I never asked again, I just changed the subject... Wow, I must be tired...

I was going to ask something along the lines of "who does what and why and for what reason" or something like that. I see you made a list of the different people involved and I was wanting to know exactly (or somewhat close to exactly) what it is they do. Like for instance, a landscape architecture is in charge of how the exhibit will drain floodwater, how the hills and valleys in the exhibit will curve and slope, etc. etc.

Here's a rough break-down:

Architects & Engineers: develop buildings (size, shape, look, materials, LSS requirements and locations, etc.), utilities planning (sewer, water, gas, electric and drainage, drains, lighting visitor areas, etc.)

Landscape Architects & Exhibit Designers: develop animal enclosures, shotcrete themed items (rockwork, artificial trees, etc.), water features and associated equipment, site visitor and employee circulation (visitor paths, viewing areas, gathering places, etc. as well as service roads, service areas, truck access, storage areas & servicing, etc), locations and design of interpretive signs, interactives, areas, special soil mix areas, grades, etc.

Horticulture & Landscape Designer: develop plant list and possible suppliers, environmental requirements for indoor exhibits (light levels & quality, soil depths and types, etc.), special soil mix needs, review slopes and general grading plan, shade plan for visitors and animals, basic landscape plan showing areas requiring screening or interpretation or animal activity, etc., browse needs and plans to meet them, maintenance access, irrigation program (what, where, how), plant sizes and quantities for pricing, etc., etc.

There are certainly some circumstances where someone does many tasks from several of these separate lists.

There are very few people who have enough zoo exhibit design work that this is all they do. They must take on other work (park design, campus design, etc.). The busier firms work internationally. The more active staff travel almost continuously: around the country and perhaps around the world.

In general the people who do this do not work at zoos and never have. As I wrote earlier, if it is a "world class" zoo or project, then the team of designers is large, each doing what they are best at. In a small inexpensive project, one person will do more different tasks.
But do not think that you will ever get to build your dream exhibits. The designer is limited by the owner's budget and the realities of the site. Often the keepers or curators will not support the designer's vision. Even the zoo director has to please the zoo Board. It is all about team-building and collaboration. The big ego people do not last.

 

[AnaheimZoo]

In general the people who do this do not work at zoos and never have. As I wrote earlier, if it is a "world class" zoo or project, then the team of designers is large, each doing what they are best at. In a small inexpensive project, one person will do more different tasks.
But do not think that you will ever get to build your dream exhibits. The designer is limited by the owner's budget and the realities of the site. Often the keepers or curators will not support the designer's vision. Even the zoo director has to please the zoo Board. It is all about team-building and collaboration. The big ego people do not last.

Thanks for the job descriptions. I've found a list of other jobs, as well, so now I have a better idea of what goes on.
I know I'd have to start off real small if I wanted to achieve something even far from world class, so I'd be willing to put aside what I had in mind (like my dream exhibits, as you said) and do whatever it is the director needed me to do. I'd try to help the zoo in any way possible, because I wouldn't mind hopping around doing different things like a little bit of horticulture, landscaping and even jobs that had nothing to do with the exhibits like advertising the zoo, public relations and such... Is there a job where you're involved in most of the work? It's only financing and like... paying staff that really disinterests me.

 

[AnaheimZoo]

Sorry I asked the same question twice! I saw you answered this on the "Should anyone have dreams of making a zoo?" thread.