The Elephant Odyssey exhibit complex at the San Diego Zoo has been the subject of much zoo chatting here. I went back through the old threads and found several pre-opening posts speculating about it and several post-opening posts and an excellent quality geomorph review (http://www.zoochat.com/22/review-elephant-odyssey-san-diego-zoo-115715/) describing it and giving his perspective.
Now that the exhibit has been open for a few years I wanted to revisit the subject of the exhibit's theme, whether the theme works, and how this elephant exhibit compares to other elephant exhibits in the current wave of new elephant exhibits (and associated exhibits if they are part of an ecosystem theme like Dallas's African savanna).
From reviewing posts I know that many people here think that the Pleistocene California theme for Elephant Odyssey is a stupid mess. One Zoochatter whom I deeply respect nominated Elephant Odyssey as one of the biggest bombs in zoo design history.
I think that Elephant Odyssey is an innovative conservation concept that is a bold attempt to advance how conservation messages can be transmitted through zoos. Whether the message has worked, I'm not sure.
The basic existing exhibit themes that I am aware of in zoo elephant exhibits are either the forests of Asia or the African savannas. The only exhibit that I am aware of that portrays African forest elephants and their role in the ecosystem is the Congo Gorilla Forest at the Bronx Zoo, and they do that through film and interpretive elements with no real forest elephants.
San Diego Zoo has presented an out of the box theme for its elephant exhibit. The theme is conceptual rather than geographic. I would summarize the theme as “Large megafauna used to roam California and much of the planet. Most of this megafauna went extinct 10,000 years ago, likely due to human causes. Relatives of these species still live on Earth, but we need to help conserve them if we want them to continue to live here and not go the way of their Pleistocene relatives”. This narrative is told through a mix of live animal exhibits, life size statues of the Pleistocene relatives of the exhibit animals, and interpretive graphics and displays.
The first time that I walked through the Elephant Odyssey complex I walked through backwards of the intended narrative route, and I did think it was a narrative mess. The signs and interpretive exhibits seemed jumbled. When I went back through the intended way by entering at the fossil pit, the narrative took hold and I really understood the story that the zoo was trying to tell. This is a narrative that is very important for giraffe conservation also and I try and incorporate it when I give talks, so it is possible that I am particularly sensitive to it.
I am wondering if others who have experienced Elephant Odyssey have “gotten” the conservation narrative that it is telling and if it worked for you?
Is there a plurality of opinion in the professional zoo world on whether Elephant Odyssey was a conceptual success on any level?
Does anyone know if the zoo has done any research on whether visitors are “getting” the exhibit in any meaningful way, and what the results are if they exist?
There are excellent new elephant exhibits out there with geographic themes like the African savanna at Dallas which integrates giraffes, antelope, crowned cranes, etc. and the Asian elephant exhibit at Smithsonian National which is connected to their other excellent Asian ecosystem exhibit with the pandas, giant salamander, sloth bears, etc. The disparate collection populating Elephant Odyssey with species from around the world (Asian and African elephants, jaguars, secretary birds, South American tapirs, capybaras, etc.) has raised much derision here, but I would argue that it was a bold out-of-the box choice that does succeed if one buys the narrative success of the exhibit, which I do. I would enjoy hearing from others on whether the narrative works for them relative to the geographic-based themes of other zoo elephant experiences.
Now that the exhibit has been open for a few years I wanted to revisit the subject of the exhibit's theme, whether the theme works, and how this elephant exhibit compares to other elephant exhibits in the current wave of new elephant exhibits (and associated exhibits if they are part of an ecosystem theme like Dallas's African savanna).
From reviewing posts I know that many people here think that the Pleistocene California theme for Elephant Odyssey is a stupid mess. One Zoochatter whom I deeply respect nominated Elephant Odyssey as one of the biggest bombs in zoo design history.
I think that Elephant Odyssey is an innovative conservation concept that is a bold attempt to advance how conservation messages can be transmitted through zoos. Whether the message has worked, I'm not sure.
The basic existing exhibit themes that I am aware of in zoo elephant exhibits are either the forests of Asia or the African savannas. The only exhibit that I am aware of that portrays African forest elephants and their role in the ecosystem is the Congo Gorilla Forest at the Bronx Zoo, and they do that through film and interpretive elements with no real forest elephants.
San Diego Zoo has presented an out of the box theme for its elephant exhibit. The theme is conceptual rather than geographic. I would summarize the theme as “Large megafauna used to roam California and much of the planet. Most of this megafauna went extinct 10,000 years ago, likely due to human causes. Relatives of these species still live on Earth, but we need to help conserve them if we want them to continue to live here and not go the way of their Pleistocene relatives”. This narrative is told through a mix of live animal exhibits, life size statues of the Pleistocene relatives of the exhibit animals, and interpretive graphics and displays.
The first time that I walked through the Elephant Odyssey complex I walked through backwards of the intended narrative route, and I did think it was a narrative mess. The signs and interpretive exhibits seemed jumbled. When I went back through the intended way by entering at the fossil pit, the narrative took hold and I really understood the story that the zoo was trying to tell. This is a narrative that is very important for giraffe conservation also and I try and incorporate it when I give talks, so it is possible that I am particularly sensitive to it.
I am wondering if others who have experienced Elephant Odyssey have “gotten” the conservation narrative that it is telling and if it worked for you?
Is there a plurality of opinion in the professional zoo world on whether Elephant Odyssey was a conceptual success on any level?
Does anyone know if the zoo has done any research on whether visitors are “getting” the exhibit in any meaningful way, and what the results are if they exist?
There are excellent new elephant exhibits out there with geographic themes like the African savanna at Dallas which integrates giraffes, antelope, crowned cranes, etc. and the Asian elephant exhibit at Smithsonian National which is connected to their other excellent Asian ecosystem exhibit with the pandas, giant salamander, sloth bears, etc. The disparate collection populating Elephant Odyssey with species from around the world (Asian and African elephants, jaguars, secretary birds, South American tapirs, capybaras, etc.) has raised much derision here, but I would argue that it was a bold out-of-the box choice that does succeed if one buys the narrative success of the exhibit, which I do. I would enjoy hearing from others on whether the narrative works for them relative to the geographic-based themes of other zoo elephant experiences.
Last edited:
