Interactive Educational Programs for Visitors, Ideas & Improvements in Zoos

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ZooBoy99

Well-Known Member
Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well! In my last thread we all talked about how zoos can improve their visitor experience. Thanks to everyone who participated!

I wanted to question the Zoochat community today if zoos offer their visitors quality educational activities. This refers to whether or not your local zoo offers excellent programs for participants that aren't limited to visits to the institution to see animals. Does your local zoo, for instance, offer a course that teaches visitors how to start a garden? Given that many zoos contain plant life, it would be an excellent approach to educate visitors about plant conservation. Or perhaps your zoo offers an overnight program that allows visitors to spend the night, enjoy drinks, observe the animals at night, and discover more about conservation. I'm inquiring about the programs of this nature.

Finally, if you have already taken part in these activities or are a parent. Do you believe that zoo camps and other programs of a similar nature give children the right kind of education and learning opportunities? Should older children have access to these types of programs to learn more about conservation. Do you think zoo camps are successful at motivating the younger generation?

Please share your comments and suggestions for improvement, and if you think your neighborhood zoo excels in this area, tell us about the visitor-oriented programs they do! I appreciate your contributions and look forward to hearing more.
 
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My local zoo(Taronga Zoo), does some incredible work in the field of conservation but its inclusion with guests is quite lacking in my opinion. If we’re talking service and working opportunities, the zoo provides quite an expansive range of options from YATZ(youth at the zoo) to volunteer work like cleaning exhibits and research. Despite these, the zoo has next to nothing in terms of future developments and signage concerning the animals they house. In my opinion the zoo could do so much better by including simple things like the names of animals or sections on the zoo website letting the public know about future projects the zoo has lined up.
 
My local Zoo (Osnabrück) has like many other German zoos a "Zooschule" (Zoo-school). It is a place to teach schoolclasses that visit the zoo.
Moreover the zoo has keeper talks and public feedings which is probably given at any zoo. There is one regular guided tour you can book but it's around 70 € + entry (I hope the price is not per person) which is quite a large of money considering it's only 90 minutes.
Sadly they focus more on the entertainment side when it comes to special events for the visitors. For example there is an medieval market scheduled within the next weeks and in the summer there is a zoo cinema. The also have christmas markets and light istallation inn winter so the visitors can see the zoo after dark. But they don't really use this opportunity to give after dark keeper talks or tours.

I really liked the idea from your last thread where someone mentioned guided audio tours since this would be almost a one time investment for the zoo and also a great opportunity to give out more information without the need for more employees.
 
loganjmuir said:
My local zoo(Taronga Zoo), does some incredible work in the field of conservation but its inclusion with guests is quite lacking in my opinion. If we’re talking service and working opportunities, the zoo provides quite an expansive range of options from YATZ(youth at the zoo) to volunteer work like cleaning exhibits and research. Despite these, the zoo has next to nothing in terms of future developments and signage concerning the animals they house. In my opinion the zoo could do so much better by including simple things like the names of animals or sections on the zoo website letting the public know about future projects the zoo has lined up.
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RonBurrgundy said:
My local Zoo (Osnabrück) has like many other German zoos a "Zooschule" (Zoo-school). It is a place to teach schoolclasses that visit the zoo.
Moreover the zoo has keeper talks and public feedings which is probably given at any zoo. There is one regular guided tour you can book but it's around 70 € + entry (I hope the price is not per person) which is quite a large of money considering it's only 90 minutes.
Sadly they focus more on the entertainment side when it comes to special events for the visitors. For example there is an medieval market scheduled within the next weeks and in the summer there is a zoo cinema. The also have christmas markets and light istallation inn winter so the visitors can see the zoo after dark. But they don't really use this opportunity to give after dark keeper talks or tours.

I really liked the idea from your last thread where someone mentioned guided audio tours since this would be almost a one time investment for the zoo and also a great opportunity to give out more information without the need for more employees.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences! Hope to hear more in the future!
 
I'd say we've got some solid stuff. We have an absolutely massive education team that's always around the aquarium with ambassador animals, showing bones, charts, all kinds of things to teach about the animals we hold. We also have some great programs that go to schools across the state. This is paired with a decently robust volunteer program where people can volunteer with education, diving, or husbandry.
 
I don't think zoos should make a course about gardening. This is not the reason of zoos.

However, zoos could make valuable courses about exotic bird keeping, aquaria or conservation. This is their strong point.

I welcome activities tuned towards more demanding audience. Zoo education usually suffers from being extremely basic, aimed at complete laymen. People who already know the basic lose interest.
 
Jurek7 said:
I don't think zoos should make a course about gardening. This is not the reason of zoos.

However, zoos could make valuable courses about exotic bird keeping, aquaria or conservation. This is their strong point.

I welcome activities tuned towards more demanding audience. Zoo education usually suffers from being extremely basic, aimed at complete laymen. People who already know the basic lose interest.
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Many zoos are zoological gardens and have staff who work with the plants, as well. Plant life is an important feature of many exhibits, like indoor tropic buildings, and some have dedicated indoor garden areas (Toledo, Como, and Beardsley come to mind).

Laymen are 99% of who walks in the door. Places offer custom tours, or private versions of normal tours, for those who want something more specific, but you have to pay more, obviously. Offering something advanced would be fantastic, but how often are people going to want that at most zoos? I have had some luck with being the only one on a tour when doing things in the off-season, or at the very end of the season if a place doesn't do anything in the off-season.
 
TinoPup said:
Offering something advanced would be fantastic, but how often are people going to want that at most zoos
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99% of zoo visitors are laymen, but this still leaves 100s of people with deeper interest in wildlife.

If these people are found and get interested, they can grow a long, potentially lifelong interest in the zoo and conservation. If they see only the basic message which they already know well, they will lose interest.

Interested people can become future zookeepers or conservationists, might know how to reach sponsors, support the zoo in local press and social media etc.
 
Jurek7 said:
99% of zoo visitors are laymen, but this still leaves 100s of people with deeper interest in wildlife.

If these people are found and get interested, they can grow a long, potentially lifelong interest in the zoo and conservation. If they see only the basic message which they already know well, they will lose interest.

Interested people can become future zookeepers or conservationists, might know how to reach sponsors, support the zoo in local press and social media etc.
Click to expand...

If they're going to lose interest over the info they're given on a tour, they weren't really interested to begin with.
 
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