This looks fabulous. Will it remain beyond this year? And was it being utilised by other visitors? So many zoos reject their history. It should be celebrated, in exciting ways like tis.
This is indeed an outstanding and ambitious exhibit; one of two such that I saw during my tour, the other one was at Philadelphia Zoo. Saint Louis' is larger and more proper (Philadelphia's is mostly made of old posters, photos and files from the zoo as well as contributions by the people of Philadelphia). I spent over an hour touring this exhibit, and that is a lot of time spent when you only have a day to see a zoo the size of Saint Louis Zoo. There were quite a few visitors in there at the same time I was and some employees to guide people around and guard the exhibit.
I'm not sure if this is a permanent exhibit or only this year for the 100th anniversary. It is in an old building next to the Bird House called Peabody Hall. Unless they normally use it for private events, I can't imagine what else they would do with the building, so I would see no harm in allowing the exhibit to stay.
It looks to have been done really professionally and stylishly. I can think of nothing in Europe that comes close. There's a tiny museum in the old mandrill house at Duisburg, and whilst it's very nice it looks as if it took a rainy afternoon to put together. There are some great historical signs at Cologne. But a London, or Berlin, or Amsterdam exhibition such as this would be just superb. We can but dream...
Vienna had an outstanding history exhibit in 2002 on the occasion of their 250th anniversary but it had gone by the autumn of 2003 when I attended the Zoohistorica at Tiergarten Schönbrunn; at least I didn't see it and heard no one talk about it. I recall the exhibit at Duisburg from my last visit in 2004 as nice but nothing to die for.
On a related note, I believe the subject of a permanent zoo museum has been proposed a million times over the past decades. It is mentioned every now and then in the Bartlett Society editorials and newsletters for instance. It is a shame that there has never been one, although I understand that location and funding are the chief concerns. Meanwhile at least one permanent major circus museum exists (in Wisconsin, USA) and possibly another one somewhere in Florida as well.
