Technology in Zoos and Aquaria

D

dartboard

Member
Hi all,

I work for a zoo in the central United States and one of our new big initiatives is to find ways to better include technology in our zoo.

So, I wanted to pick the brain of the zoo chat public all over the world.

Please share any and all experiences you've had, seen, heard of, etc. that involve technology in a zoo or related institution. Nothing is too simple or complicated. We want to use technology to help our public have the best experience possible be it through education, normal visitors walking throughout the park, kids and families attending educational programs, or anything of the sort!

Please let your imaginations run wild. What technological ideas would you want at your dream zoo?

Thanks!
 
There have been a few places with electronic touch screens instead of regular signage for animal exhibits. Some of them obviously had them better planned than others, however. One place had several that either didn't work at all or were stuck on a single animal (mixed exhibit). If it's possible to make them work well then that's a possibility...
 
Ah, that's always the downside to technology isn't it. Upkeep.

But that's certainly a great idea! Can you elaborate anymore? What aspects about those touch screens did you like? Any features or characteristics that you remember or would be particularly beneficial?
 
simple things
pvc pipe termite mounds
We have a shirt that we bring out for the public that would fit a full grown male chimp for them to see or try on.
 
Something that is catching on these days is the use of smartphone apps to provide visitors with self-guided tours. The app can be GPS-mapped such that relevant animal info (text, photos, videos) is automatically generated when a visitor is at a particular exhibit. Or a less complicated solution would be placing QR codes at exhibits which can be manually scanned to retrieve the relevant info.
 
I think that technology in zoos is a notable, crucial 21st century element that is often missing from modern establishments, but I've also had moments of frustration dealing with technology.

An excerpt from my 2010 review of Dallas World Aquarium:

Signage – Instead of having labels on each tank or terrarium the aquarium often has frustrating touch screens that apply to 4-5 tanks or terrariums in a row. So while looking frantically at a terrarium in a hopeless attempt to figure out whether I’m supposed to be searching for a lizard, snake, spider or scorpion I abandoned my quest on numerous occasions and went to the touch screen in the corner of the room. After battling through the crowd and waiting in line to use the screen (assuming that it worked as two of them did not) then I had to force my way through the throngs of visitors back to the original terrarium and then I still had to guess what the animal was that was inside the exhibit. I knew what 4 or 5 animals were supposed to be in the row of 4-5 enclosures, but which animal is in which terrarium? STUPID, STUPID, STUPID signage. Okay, rant over for now…haha. The least that DWA could do is post a tiny sign on each exhibit like all other zoos and aquariums.
 
Snowleopard, that was exactly what I was thinking of. When I was last there however there were definitely more than 2 of them that did not work, and there was one that just froze and stayed on one animal in a mixed exhibit. It could be a cool idea but I'd much prefer regular signs at the DWA if no one is going to fix the screens...assuming that they haven't yet.
 
Great ideas so far everyone. I definitely love the idea of computerized signage but there certainly is a huge need to constantly maintain that technology and keep it working.

What kinds of things do you all remember about those electronic signage stations that stood out as good? What features or information made it a worthwhile experience or memorable?

Also I'd love any other ideas on creative and innovative technology uses, besides just animal exhibit signage!

Thanks for the great ideas! Can't wait to hear more!
 
Bristol had a display that let people test the experimental spot-recognition software they are testing for penguin ID in the wild - people held a cut out of a penguin and the software would identify which penguin image they were holding up to the camera. I think it did njot last long (gliteches in the software or overuse of the equipment I think). The software will be used on wild colonies to identify penguins going to and from their nest sites without having to physically catch them up.
 
There is actually a great deal of technology available to home aquarists. Much has been developed to maintain the very stable and specific conditions by coral reef invertebrates - lighting, filtration, temperature control, buffering, trace element dosing etc.
I have never seen this displayed - except at retailers and hobbyist shows.

Or did you mean information technology?

Alan
 
Zoovolunteer said:
Bristol had a display that let people test the experimental spot-recognition software they are testing for penguin ID in the wild - people held a cut out of a penguin and the software would identify which penguin image they were holding up to the camera. I think it did njot last long (gliteches in the software or overuse of the equipment I think). The software will be used on wild colonies to identify penguins going to and from their nest sites without having to physically catch them up.
Click to expand...

That's pretty amazing! I read in Audobon magazine about a similar thing involving stripe recognition in zebras! They plan to expand the software to other animals like spot recognition in big cats, etc. Definitely an interesting idea!

@gentle lemur - Thanks for the info! I actually kind of meant interpretive technology used for helping to make a better, more customer friendly zoo. Not so much technology used in animal husbandry. I'm in the education department so the average visitor is the main target here.

Thanks again everybody for the ideas! We have a big meeting to discuss technology next week so I'd still love any other ideas anyone has! Anything unusual or memorable anybody has seen?!

Thanks!
 
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