AZA Exhibit Award Winners

snowleopard

snowleopard

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Premium Member
This is an updated link to every one of the AZA award winners for exhibit design, beginning in 1974 when the award was first given out to Topeka:

Association of Zoos and Aquariums

The list below is a comprehensive tally of every award-winning exhibit at AZA zoos and aquariums, including winners in the category for "Top Honors" as well as "Significant Achievement". Interestingly both Monterey Bay and Shedd are the top aquariums, while Bronx and Woodland Park are clearly the top zoos.

Some major zoos (notably Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo) do not often apply for the AZA Best Exhibit award, while others submit massive applications.

For example, Oregon Zoo's 105-page application for "Predators of the Serengeti":

http://www.aza.org/uploadedFiles/Membership/Honors_and_Awards/OR_ZOO_EXH_AWARD_APP.pdf

NUMBER OF EXHIBIT AWARDS FOR AQUARIUMS:

Monterey Bay - 4
John G. Shedd - 4
Sea World Florida - 2
Sea World San Diego - 1
New England - 1
Seattle - 1
Baltimore - 1
Hanna Barbera Marineland - 1

NUMBER OF EXHIBIT AWARDS FOR ZOOS:

Bronx Zoo - 8
Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo - 6

Minnesota Zoo - 3
San Diego Zoo - 3
Oregon Zoo - 3
Detroit Zoo - 2
Lincoln Park Zoo - 2
National Zoo in Washington - 2
Louisville Zoo - 2
Saint Louis Zoo - 2
Cincinnati Zoo - 2
Brookfield Zoo - 2
Philadelphia Zoo - 2

Jacksonville Zoo - 1
Houston Zoo - 1
San Antonio Zoo - 1
Denver Zoo - 1
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo - 1
Topeka Zoo - 1
Toledo Zoo - 1
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum - 1
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium - 1
Audobon Park Zoo - 1
North Carolina Zoo - 1
Fundacion Temaiken - 1
 
Last edited:
Does Dallas apply? Because they have:
*Giants of the Savanna
*Wilds of Africa with amazing enclosures for:
-gorilla
-chimpanzee
-Mandrill
-Okapi
-numerous african birds
*Exxon mobile tiger habitat
*An amazing otter enclosure
*and a well executed childrens zoo!
 
The list speaks for itself. Dallas has never won an AZA exhibit award. The Wilds of Africa was nominated in 1991, but lost to Bronx's Baboon Reserve.
 
If the Humboldt penguin exhibit at Woodland Park has 71 pages for just one species, just imagine how long the Wild of Africa would be.
 
It's not difficult to make a presentation that long on a single exhibit.
 
We could not believe Dallas has not won an award either,we were also a bit surprised that Columbus has never won anything


Team Tapir
 
I guess some instituions don't need an award to feel like they have made a good enclosure:D example: Dallas and Colombus!
 
The list is taken with a grain of salt by many people, while others believe that it is an accurate representation of the quality of a specific zoo. I'd place Sedgwick County, Columbus, Omaha and Dallas in my top dozen favourite zoos and yet none of them have won an exhibit award in the history of the accolade. Sedgwick County is a perfect example of a zoo that is similar to Columbus, as almost everything is impressive but there isn't anything truly spectacular or totally amazing. Perhaps that is why those zoos have never won, or maybe they simply did not submit spellbinding application packages.:)

The flip side is that there have been some excellent winning exhibits over the years, and with Bronx and Woodland Park having 14 awards between them there is little doubt that those zoos are highly rated within the industry. The top 5 award winners (Bronx, Woodland Park, San Diego, Minnesota and Oregon) I'd place in America's top 20 zoos...and having Shedd and Monterey Bay as the top 2 award-winning aquariums isn't much of a stretch either. Whether one supports the idea of exhibit awards or not is almost irrelevant, as the list of winners is fascinating.
 
But some exhibits just sren't that good. Examples:

Elephant Odyssey (Maybe)

Kronkosky's Tiny Tot Nature Spot (I know its a good children's are, but does it really belong?)

Wells Fargo Family Farm (Again, why?)

Aquarium Medical Center (Seen it, have no idea why its on here)

Think Tank (Doesn't come slode to deserving it)

There are many fantastic exhibits too, but it can only be great if they consider ALL new exhibits, which they do not
 
Consider how the awards are decided.
Each zoo that wants to submits their presentation. The committee sees only that submitted paperwork. They do not visit the exhibits. When a blockbuster exhibit by a major zoo (say, Congo Gorilla Forest) is submitted, it is pretty clear what will happen.
But with most exhibits and most presentations (and alot is riding on the quality of that presentation... at least as much as on the physical exhibit) it may not be so clear what is superior and what is merely adequate.

So as you review the list of winners, recognize that you don't know who else submitted each year and you don't know whether the competing submissions were slick and extensive PR pieces or simple bureaucratic stuff. You don't even know whether your favorite exhibit was ever submitted (it is a great deal of work to do a good submission).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top