Zoo Signs

[Viper]

Do visitors actually read exhibit signs?

I've noticed on many occasions, visitors seem to skip over the signs when coming across an animal or its exhibit. Other than glancing to look for the name of the species, which sometimes they don't even do, I feel sometimes the information in the signs are being largely ignored. (Which is sad considering many of the endangered animals have a story to tell about habitat loss and the risk of extinction.)

But sometimes I do see some people read through the various paragraphs and do seem to appreciate the fact we have them. But this happens VERY rarely.

Example:
A young woman with a child about the age of three were whatching our spider monkeys in their exhibit. She told her son and a few other people around her that she was positive they were "Chimpanzees" even though a sign literally two feet away from her indicated the inhabitants of the enclosure were Black Handed Spider Monkeys.

Do any of you experience this as well? Are there any suggestions that could possibly fix this "problem" in zoos?

Please feel free to include any examples.

 

[mrcriss]

Chester zoo has staff posted around at each major enclosure, not involved with animal care, but just to chat to visitors about the species in the exhibit. I had a great chat with one of the ladies in the bat cave.....she was really informative.

Obviously this is a pretty costly way of doing things (unless the staff are volunteers), but it's a great way of engaging people more than simple signs.

 

[Javan Rhino]

Chester zoo has staff posted around at each major enclosure, not involved with animal care, but just to chat to visitors about the species in the exhibit. I had a great chat with one of the ladies in the bat cave.....she was really informative.

Obviously this is a pretty costly way of doing things (unless the staff are volunteers), but it's a great way of engaging people more than simple signs.

The staff in the bat cave are paid, but Chester do use volunteers in the Butterfly House.

 

[Royale]

This pretty much applies to anywhere people go on vacation. I worked at Universal Studios Orlando for several years and people never read signs. Even when they light up and make noise. Even when they have huge red WARNING letters above them.

I had a few occasions where I would ask people "why didn't you read the sign" after they get in trouble and in typical tourist fashion they reply "I'm on vacation. I'm not gonna stop to read your stupid signs. I just want to go on rides."

Except for the zoo it's "I just want to see the animals." People just don't care about the animal to be honest as long as it looks cool. They think they can do whatever they want (usually feed it) and since they saw a 30 minute documentary on the discovery channel about an animal that looks similar suddenly they are informing everybody around them about it.

 

[Viper]

Except for the zoo it's "I just want to see the animals." People just don't care about the animal to be honest as long as it looks cool.

I hope this isn't completly true. How do you think zoos could improve in this area?

 

[Royale]

I hope this isn't completly true. How do you think zoos could improve in this area?

Of course it's not entirely true. There's a lot of groups who go to the zoo for educational purposes. I'm just talking about the tourists who are looking for a way to kill a few hours. The "general public."

I liked the idea of having employees/volunteers/keepers in the viewing area to talk about the animals. A lot of zoos will do this for the more popular exhibits anyway. Attention spans tend to be a little longer when you're actually listening to someone telling you interesting facts instead of reading them off of a sign. I read everything at every zoo that I visit, but that's not really the case for the traditional "tourist."

 

[blospz]

You probably could have a big sign with arrows thats say, "READ: THIS IS THE NAME OF THE ANIMAL" and they still would not read it. I must admit I do get excited when seeing an animal and forget about the signs. However when people are being greedy and surrounding an animal for a good photo op., I will stand back and read signs. I've been trying to make more of an effort this year. However, I agree volunteers and keeper talks are the way to go. I find I obtain information better that way than reading a sign.

 

[ThylacineAlive]

When I went to Beardsley some guy went on a rant about how the Bald Eagles had clipped wings when there was a sign talking about how they had been rescued right in front of him. I laughed when his friend pointed to the sign and he got all embarrassed. It can actually be quite hard to pay attention to the signs when the cool animal is right there. I've begun pointing out the signs to people who ask "What's that animal?" or when there kids ask them and they don't know.

~Thylo

 

[BeardsleyZooFan]

It's sad how many mistakes the public has made about many subjects just because they're not reading the sign right in front of them. For example, I was at Beardsley Zoo in May 2012, right after the male Andean Bear left. A man was saying to his two daughters, "Look harder girls, he has to be in here somewhere," when this sign was literally a few feet away from him! http://www.zoochat.com/1133/predators-goodbye-joaquin-273163/ I didn't even feel like pointing out the sign to him, just because I was dummfounded.
I have to say, I love this sign at Naples Zoo very much though, and I wonder how many people read it. (credits to snowleopard)
http://www.zoochat.com/586/accurate-sign-287549/

 

[ThylacineAlive]

I have to say, I love this sign at Naples Zoo very much though, and I wonder how many people read it.
http://www.zoochat.com/586/accurate-sign-287549/

That's the greatest sign on Earth!

 

[Viper]

I'll have to ask my supervisor at Micke Grove to see if we could put up a sign similar to this!

You sir, have made my day!

 

[Royale]

I'll have to ask the same thing at Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. That's fantastic

 

[ThylacineAlive]

Haha, that's not even the first time I've seen it on this site. It is a fantastic sign however.

~Thylo

 

[chrisbarela]

Ironically we just had a discussion about this very same thing today at work. I believe there are several issues when it comes to zoo signs. First there is the frustration that guests do not read the signs. That is only partially true. It depends on the individual - I've noticed that members who visit a zoo or aquarium frequently will stop and spend more time with an exhibit, including reading the signs. They are not in a hurry to see everything so they go at a leisurely pace. Likewise parents will often read the signs to their children. The signs do get used, just not by everyone. It is a "lead the horse to water" situation.

That said, you could stack the odds in your favor. A problem with zoo signs is that they are often an afterthought - either very little effort has been put into the signs or the signs are trying to do too much "heavy lifting" and someone has written a novel's worth of text on it. You need to take into consideration HOW people today process information. We are very much attached to our phones, facebook, twitter... People are very comfortable with small chunks of information.

Here is how I design signs.
1. Bright, colorful illustrations instead of photos: There's something about good illustrations that are very appealing to people and they tend to draw you in. You do not need a photo if the actual animal is right in front of you.

2. It is a sign, not a book!: I can't tell you how many places have a literal wall of text. The aquarium I work at is guilty of it (a long hallway about water conservation in Utah that no one has ever stopped to look at). You can actually get more information across in short 1 or 2 sentence chunks that a paragraph. You want a great example of this - flip through one of the Eyewitness Book series and you will see what I mean (eyewitness - search results - DK.com)

3. Play on guests' assumptions: Use their misinformation to educate. I made a sign that said, "Where do you NOT find penguins?" and it was a wheel that spun with areas marked out like Africa, Rocky Cliffs, Galapagos Islands, Rain forests, Underground, Arctic, Antarctic, etc.... This throws people off because obviously penguins aren't found in Africa or in rainforests or underground or on cliffs... and yet each time they turn to one of those places they discover a type of penguin that IS found there. The Arctic is usually the last place they look and they are SHOCKED to discover that penguins are not found there. This is so much more effective that telling them in a static sign. They went on the discovery themselves and learned something they did not know.

4. Make issues personal: A major goal in most zoos and aquariums is conservation but guests really dislike unpleasant messages while they are enjoying looking at animals. Why should they worry about plastic in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? There are other people taking care of those things right? The key to getting people to listen to messages is to make it personal. You can say plastics are bad OR you can show a plastic straw, a shopping bag, a water bottle and explain that these "single use" items that we use every day and toss in the trash will be around for the next 500 years. Show how much plastic an average family uses in a year. An actual huge pile. That is impressive! It makes guests rethink about their role in plastic use. It's now personal.

5. Talk "to" not "at": You need to be telling a story not dictating facts. Sometimes the person writing the text gets too carried away with big scientific words or complex ideas. If its really complex have a graphic that helps visualize. Use large easy to read fonts. Hire an actual graphic designer - not just some intern who knows photoshop!
***
I've attached 3 signs I'm working on - two of them are for the Lionfish tank. Version 1 is a block of text and simple graphics but kinda boring. Version 2 is much more fun and inviting with graphics to complement the text. The other sign is for the poison dart frogs. Notice how the CAUTION! DANGER! STOP! sign elements add a surprise to to - making the guests stop to figure out why the unusual items are there.
These signs are 32"H x 16"W and will be back lit.

(These are first passes and have not been proofed! I'm sure spelling / punctuation errors abound!)

That's my 2 cents! Hope it helps!

 

[zooboy28]

3. Play on guests' assumptions: Use misinformation to surprise. I made a sign that said, "Where do you NOT find penguins?" and it was a wheel that spun with areas marked out like Africa, Rocky Cliffs, Galapagos Islands, Rain forests, Underground, Arctic, Antarctic, etc.... This throws people off because obviously penguins aren't found in Africa or in rainforests or underground or on cliffs... and each time they turn to one of those places they discover a type of penguin that IS found there. The Arctic is usually the last place they look and they are SHOCKED to discover that penguins are not found there. This is so much more effective that telling them in a static sign. They went on the discovery themselves and learned something they did not know.

4. Make issues personal: A major goal in most zoos and aquariums is conservation but guests really dislike unpleasant messages while they are enjoying looking at animals. Why should they worry about plastic in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Why should they be concerned about elephant poachers? There are other people taking care of those things right? The key to getting people to listen to messages is to make it personal. You can say plastics are bad OR you can show a plastic straw, a shopping bag, a water bottle and explain that these "single use" items that we use every day and toss in the trash and show that they will be around for the next 500 years. Then show how much plastic an average family uses in a year. it would be a huge pile. That is impressive. It makes guests rethink about their role in plastic use. It's now personal.
***
I've attached 3 signs I'm working on - two of them are for the Lionfish tank. Version 1 is a block of text and simple graphics. Version 2 is much more fun and inviting. The other sign is for the poison dart frogs. Notice how the CAUTION! DANGER! STOP! sign elements add a surprise to to - making the guests stop to figure out why the unusual items are there.

That's my 2 cents!

I think the penguin sign sounds brilliant. These sort of interactive signage types often work very well. I also really like the idea of displaying a pile of rubbish that represents a family's yearly waste, what an eye-opener that would be!

There was a discussion in another thread about signs, which reached a general concensus that pictures (drawings, paintings, etc) are better on signs than photos.

I'm very impressed with the signs you have been working on. I take it version 2 of the lionfis sign is the first attached sign? It does look very eye-catching and easy to read. Well done!

 

[Buldeo]

Like Mr. Barela, I readily prefer illustrations in my signage. But then again, I'm a sucker for the turn-of-the-century natural history illustrations a la Edward Lear and John James Audubon. If they include a musculo-skeletal system, so much the better!

As an adult, I know I despise that most of the signage I come across is at waist level. Bending over to read the proverbial fine print is annoying. If they could move it off to the side, or behind the viewing area would be preferable.

After a lifetime of zoo going, I know the basics. Add some odd details. For example, big cats can't move their jaws sideways. Thus, you see them with head cocked and are trying to scissor off a piece of flesh.

Oakland Zoo has a tiger skull that I like demonstrating this with.

How about some personal information? How old is Gorilla A. and Gorilla B.?

 

[bongorob]

The staff in the bat cave are paid, but Chester do use volunteers in the Butterfly House.

And they do a very good job.

 

[bongorob]

I normally read the signs,
about 15 years ago I visited Birdworld and saw a label for one of the Asian hornbills. The scientific name did not match the common name, so I wrote to ask them which species it was.

The curator replied that the common name was wrong and that she would get it corrected. She also expressed her gratitude that at least one visitor was reading the signs.

 

[Viper]

@chrisbarela

Thanks for your information! And I must say, those signs are beautiful. Where do you find such fantastic illustrations?

Our Zoo is due for some new animal exhibit signs.......

 

[chrisbarela]

Where do you find such fantastic illustrations?:

Thank you! I do all of the illustrations. I use Adobe Illustrator - depending on the animal I am drawing it takes between 2 - 6 hours to draw. I also research and write the signs (I'm a much better illustrator than a writer!).
I usually have an idea about what I want to talk about in the signs - Octopus Intelligence, Piranha's teeth, Anaconda's jaws, etc. and then I come up with the illustrations and copy at the same time.
Here are 3 more examples of what our new signs look like. NOTE - These have not been proofed (and will probably be re-written) so ignore spelling / punctuation errors!