Education in Zoos and Museum Inspirations
- Thread starter RightWhale
- Start date
Feel free to submit some out of the region!Wow we should rename this thread "educational displays of new england zoos"
Yes, yes, yess
I'm so glad this topic is gaining more traction!
Personally, none of the zoos I visited had half decent museum section (Eastern European and Balkan zoos aren't too creative sadly). But I saw this video a while ago that I really liked:
Source: https://youtu.be/FzdgC1_WIgk?si=c1ya9Ojn0mwi1hEG
Feel like this is good thread for it
I'm so glad this topic is gaining more traction!
Personally, none of the zoos I visited had half decent museum section (Eastern European and Balkan zoos aren't too creative sadly). But I saw this video a while ago that I really liked:
Feel like this is good thread for it
Last edited:
The zoos you visit don’t have to have a dedicated museum section!
For example: maybe near the rainforest exhibit they have special signs/ pieces dedicated to teaching about the forest layers.
This thread is for museum pieces, and also all of the other ways zoos can help teach about animals. Education doesn’t always have to be from signs, theming, props, and a whole ton of other stuff can go a long way! I am currently working on getting some more stuff, especially trying to find stuff that are not in New England lmao
Meanwhile I'll share link to this cool Educational Biodome plan by the Zoo am Meer at the city Bremerhaven in Germany.
Take a look at yourself. Seems really ambitious:
Originally posted by @Cynogale bennettii II on an older thread:
Well alright, trying to stick with the local zoo task, the highland wildlife park is going to have an education centre at last long some point this year hopefully. The wildlife park itself currently has little to no educational displays apart from animal signs and the odd walking in the wild kind of signage on boardwalks. The new discovery centre will be a modern educational building entirely focused on the wildlife of scotland both past and present.
Some renderings of the future building:
Honestly I’ve never considered it, but a lot of zoos have “discovery centers” this looks really cool!
I would love to get that geometric lighting
Oh that reminds me of another one, back when I was building the Oregon zoo recreation there was this great looking education building focusing on exploring nature and insect education. I think there's also a small insect exhibit area attached.
Yo that thing looks so cool, like a spaceship version of noahs ark
Very curious on those holograms…
If this thing opens you can bet I’ll try to be there, despite me living halfway across the world
Looks great!
Amazing!
Hello again everyone, sorry for the long wait! Once again I have been fighting with how the server lets us upload photos, and school has been busy. With that being said I have some more cool things to show!
Here is another thing from Squam Lake Science Center! This time we have a giant turtle shell that kids can crawl into. Behind it is an educational sign about turtles, and I just find this a cool way to let kids learn through play. This is also not the only other example I will show…
I have had to edit this image so many times it might be hard to recognize what it is, but this is a “beaver den” that similar to the turtle shell above children are able to crawl into. Inside are some “sticks” and “beavers” that can be found, once again another cool way to let children learn by play.
Here is a very cool wall from the Columbus Zoo! This is education by displaying conservation, with this wall showing all the manatees that have been rescued by the zoo. The wall had even more information on it, but I had to crop the image a lot to get it to fit. This would be a cool way to show what your zoos do for conservation!
This is not my image, but I have been to the Granby Zoo in Quebec! I believe this is in the elephant house, and they keep the skeleton of the largest and tallest land mammals next to each other. I desperately want skeletons in Planet Zoo, it adds some nice
spice to the builds.
Not my picture, here we see a fake poacher truck from the Bronx Zoo! (I only like to show zoos I have been too, considering they are what I remember) I love displaying some of the worst parts of wildlife conservation, it’s so important to understand. Fake poacher trucks, fake cages, destroyed trees and chainsaws, Planet Zoo could use more of these outside of basic signs. In bird world they also have a no poaching sign, with a fake gun underneath.
Not my picture, but here is something from inside the museum in the Bermuda Zoo and Aquarium. This is an old memory, but allow me to gush for a second. This zoo was so cute, it featured mainly animals that live on islands and had a handful of other warm weather species as well. The museum was such a cool addition, showcasing the natural life around the island of Bermuda. Shells, habitat recreations, a bit of history, pictures, and interactive learning. Some natural history museums can make such cool additions to our Zoos. Unfortunately I have no photos of my visit there anymore, so I can only look online for what I saw.
I have unfortunately no photo for this, but this next example is from Stone Zoo. In the Sierra Madre section of the zoo a lot of it is themed around the desert of the same name from North America. One of the coolest sections (IMO) is an old abandoned mine, which of course is now home to a lovely colony of bats! I am a sucker for a good theme, and the Zoos leaning into it can be really cool! Another example is having a former covered wagon sticking into the Jaguar exhibit. I was able to sit on the same wagon the jaguar sat on! We were separated of course. This isn’t the only example of a vehicle/ transport being near an animal exhibit. Franklin Park Zoo and the Columbus Zoo both have broken down Jeeps near their lions. So it’s a cool way to incorporate theming into habitats. To tie back into the bats in the mine, the Bronx zoo keeps hundreds of Madagascar hissing cockroaches in an old “tree”. Likewise I remember many zoos/ museums keeping bugs inside of “logs” and “trees”.
Here is another thing from Squam Lake Science Center! This time we have a giant turtle shell that kids can crawl into. Behind it is an educational sign about turtles, and I just find this a cool way to let kids learn through play. This is also not the only other example I will show…
I have had to edit this image so many times it might be hard to recognize what it is, but this is a “beaver den” that similar to the turtle shell above children are able to crawl into. Inside are some “sticks” and “beavers” that can be found, once again another cool way to let children learn by play.
Here is a very cool wall from the Columbus Zoo! This is education by displaying conservation, with this wall showing all the manatees that have been rescued by the zoo. The wall had even more information on it, but I had to crop the image a lot to get it to fit. This would be a cool way to show what your zoos do for conservation!
This is not my image, but I have been to the Granby Zoo in Quebec! I believe this is in the elephant house, and they keep the skeleton of the largest and tallest land mammals next to each other. I desperately want skeletons in Planet Zoo, it adds some nice
spice to the builds.Not my picture, here we see a fake poacher truck from the Bronx Zoo! (I only like to show zoos I have been too, considering they are what I remember
) I love displaying some of the worst parts of wildlife conservation, it’s so important to understand. Fake poacher trucks, fake cages, destroyed trees and chainsaws, Planet Zoo could use more of these outside of basic signs. In bird world they also have a no poaching sign, with a fake gun underneath.Not my picture, but here is something from inside the museum in the Bermuda Zoo and Aquarium. This is an old memory, but allow me to gush for a second. This zoo was so cute, it featured mainly animals that live on islands and had a handful of other warm weather species as well. The museum was such a cool addition, showcasing the natural life around the island of Bermuda. Shells, habitat recreations, a bit of history, pictures, and interactive learning. Some natural history museums can make such cool additions to our Zoos. Unfortunately I have no photos of my visit there anymore, so I can only look online for what I saw.
I have unfortunately no photo for this, but this next example is from Stone Zoo. In the Sierra Madre section of the zoo a lot of it is themed around the desert of the same name from North America. One of the coolest sections (IMO) is an old abandoned mine, which of course is now home to a lovely colony of bats! I am a sucker for a good theme, and the Zoos leaning into it can be really cool! Another example is having a former covered wagon sticking into the Jaguar exhibit. I was able to sit on the same wagon the jaguar sat on! We were separated of course. This isn’t the only example of a vehicle/ transport being near an animal exhibit. Franklin Park Zoo and the Columbus Zoo both have broken down Jeeps near their lions. So it’s a cool way to incorporate theming into habitats. To tie back into the bats in the mine, the Bronx zoo keeps hundreds of Madagascar hissing cockroaches in an old “tree”. Likewise I remember many zoos/ museums keeping bugs inside of “logs” and “trees”.
Last edited:
This image is provided by deviantart, but I would love to get some more educational images. Similar to this would be nice! As another example, I love images that show off a whole ecosystem. Think like what Nat Geo or Zoo books would show: the Amazon rainforest with all the sections of the forest split off and having 20 different species on it.
I’m actually running low on pictures for this thread (personally) speaking. When I go to the North Carolina Zoo I should have some more stuff! I would always love people to post their own examples though!
Sike! I found something else!
I would like to have more zoos outside of New England, but I had to do one more for Squam Lake. This is not my photo, but considering the amount of people who want playgrounds I think this is a great example. In Squam this playground is once again trying to combine education and play. You pretend to be a squirrel, and go through an obstacle course to learn how squirrels avoid predators. If I remember right the slide is off of a birds nest.
I love edutainment, the more zoos incorporate it the better I find the institution.
I would like to have more zoos outside of New England, but I had to do one more for Squam Lake. This is not my photo, but considering the amount of people who want playgrounds I think this is a great example. In Squam this playground is once again trying to combine education and play. You pretend to be a squirrel, and go through an obstacle course to learn how squirrels avoid predators. If I remember right the slide is off of a birds nest.
I love edutainment, the more zoos incorporate it the better I find the institution.
Yes this is the exact thing I have been talking about! What a fun way to learn about wildlife!
I don’t have a good picture, but animals can also be incorporated in an edutainment way.
At Franklin Park Zoo in the barn area they have a barn owl exhibit. The exhibit is actually placed in the rafters of the barn, with complete decorations and everything. It’s such a cool way to display how animals live alongside humans, as well as show how we don’t always need pesticides and rodenticides to deal with pests!
Maybe @Orkan has a photo of the barn owl?
At Franklin Park Zoo in the barn area they have a barn owl exhibit. The exhibit is actually placed in the rafters of the barn, with complete decorations and everything. It’s such a cool way to display how animals live alongside humans, as well as show how we don’t always need pesticides and rodenticides to deal with pests!
Maybe @Orkan has a photo of the barn owl?