What Makes Exhibits Great?

gentle lemur said:
Good zoo exhibits are hard to design because there are so many factors to take into account and compromises have to be made. Different designers at different zoos working with different species produce very different designs with different strengths and weaknesses :)
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Very true! The hardest part of any exhibit is deciding what compromises to make. I think a good way of looking at it is a balance between animal, guest, and staff needs resembling something of a three legged stool. The success of one depends largely on the success of the others. An exhibit that has one leg shorter than the other two does little to support the important message it must convey and soon fails under the weight of reality.
 
I understand the original point about the difference between an enclosure and an exhibit and think the often awkward and imprecise nature of the English language is the real reason an argument is occurring. There should definitely be, perhaps, an organized way to separate a large immersive, simulated ecosystem in a zoo from a concrete pit with a geriatric and unhappy animal in it. The definition of the term 'exhibit' may not be the best way to frame this argument, but I can't honestly recommend a better solution here.
 
jbnbsn99 said:
and by all accounts meets every animal need
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Unless you have constant and full insight into continous veterinary health protocols (and factual understanding) of each and every specimen (including adequate sampling of all necessary parameters for an objective evaluation), you should be careful with such sweeping declarations..
 
Arizona Docent said:
To me one test is that the landscaping (foliage) holds up well over time. Exhibits that are too small for the inhabitants eventually become barren. Sometimes this happens in a few months and sometimes a few years, but good exhibits still look good a decade or two later.

Here are some I have seen that still look great after years and years of use:
Phoenix Zoo - cheetah exhibit
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum - mountain lion exhibit
Houston Zoo - lion exhibit
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I consider that more of a maintenance issue than a design issue. Good zoos keep their exhibit landscapes in good shape. It is not realistic, IMO, to expect the original landscape to thrive indefinitely. Landscapes must be maintained. Often plants need to be replaced or new ones added. Turf certainly requires attention.
 
I noticed something.

Zoos in the last decade focus on developing a storyline, for example 'lets make an exhibit about deforestation in the Amazon'. They also build 'gimmicks', say mock Indian temple or jeep stuck in mud.

But when you read fantasy zoo threads on this forum, people are interested in species and habitats: lets make an exhibit for clouded leopards, or of Asian rainforest. Pretty much zoos of the 1950's to 1990's. These fantasy-zoo threads are actually useful for real zoos.

When I go to the zoo, areas which are most crowded with ordinary visitors are different still: restaurant and children playground. People take family to a zoo, small children very quickly get tired or hungry, families park themselves in either the restaurant or on the playground.

It looks like zoos are in mismatch with interests of visitors. And to make this goal of education to succeed, the best way would be putting discrete education panels in two underused places: restaurants and children playgrounds.
 
Jurek7 said:
I noticed something.

Zoos in the last decade focus on developing a storyline, for example 'lets make an exhibit about deforestation in the Amazon'. They also build 'gimmicks', say mock Indian temple or jeep stuck in mud.

But when you read fantasy zoo threads on this forum, people are interested in species and habitats: lets make an exhibit for clouded leopards, or of Asian rainforest. Pretty much zoos of the 1950's to 1990's. These fantasy-zoo threads are actually useful for real zoos.

When I go to the zoo, areas which are most crowded with ordinary visitors are different still: restaurant and children playground. People take family to a zoo, small children very quickly get tired or hungry, families park themselves in either the restaurant or on the playground.

It looks like zoos are in mismatch with interests of visitors. And to make this goal of education to succeed, the best way would be putting discrete education panels in two underused places: restaurants and children playgrounds.
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It would be a mistake to think that those particpating in this forum represent the "average" zoo guests.
 
Most of you are at least vaguely familiar with the highly respected Arizona Sonora Desert Museum here in my city. Unlike the very true stereotype mentioned above of visitors being interested in the playground or exhibits with cheap gimmicks like a broken down Jeep, they have sophisticated exhibits and sophisticated visitors. I think the reason for this is that from inception they have marketed themselves as a museum and not a zoo. They bring in a large clientele (including out of state tourists) that would likely not visit a traditional zoo. There is of course a traditional zoo in my city as well and it is in fact largely geared to young families with small children.
 
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That is one thing I think we have to keep in mind - any zoo has a focus toward its target market. Many of us here argue for elements that will provide enhancement toward our own nature of our visits - which is only natural - especially as many zoos do cater for a very similar crowd in the general casual visitor and the family group visitor.

In my view a very mono or limited target focus is a weakness. I understand that it makes things simpler and easier; but I've always felt that its a weakness because it results in the venue catering to a singular crowd and sometimes at the expense of losing or not presenting things that would interest other groups.



And yes Zoochatters are very much not your average zoo visitor
 
@Arizona Docent @overread : These are both very interesting points and (at the risk of further derailing this thread onto a tangent) I'd like to follow up on that. The AZA collects statistics on who visits accredited zoos: two thirds of visitors are either children or adults who come with them, and the other third are adults who come without children. While one-third is a pretty significant number, the fact that most people who visit are young families is important. If most zoos are marketing towards children (and I believe they are, at least here in the US), why is this the case? Why are zoos often considered something for children, while "museums" and other activities are considered more adult-appropriate? (And as AD points out, just marketing oneself as a "museum" can be enough to change the demographics)
 
I would argue that many museums also advertise toward families, but that the focus and engagement is a little different.

Zoos require almost no understanding to enjoy and if you look at many of the top animals that attract people to zoos you see that they are often big, impressive, active, engaging animals (some or all of those properties). Or they are ones which feature in a major film or TV series (with exceptions like Lion King most of those film interests are going to be shorter-term spikes of interest).

Thus a zoo is very readily a form of entertainment for kids of nearly all ages through to adults; you don't have to understand much to enjoy a day at the zoo.


A museum is a little different though and whilst many families do visit and many do cater and advertise toward families I think that they require a little more understanding. Finding an old Roman coin interesting is not something many (most?) people find interesting until they understand more about what they are looking at and its history (story*).
Also I feel that a zoo is a place more kids are going to ask to go to see again; whilst a museum is more likely to be somewhere parents feel they "should" take their kids (or they have the interest and the kids are coming along as well).

Of course this doesn't speak for all kids and a museum that makes great effort to engage and entertain is likely to generate a lot of interest and potential repeat visits.
Still the fact that most zoos have season tickets whilst most museums don't tend to push them for sale as heavily tends to tell me that zoos are expecting more repeat and more potential demand whilst a museum accepts that after one visitation far fewer are going to repeat visit unless they get a big new exhibition in (and advertise it)

*Which is why many have story based exhibits which aim to tell a story rather than just show items that are found; giving context in an accessible manner.
 
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