Touch The Heart TEACH THE MIND & “Te balance of nature is not a status quo;


it is fluid, ever shifting, in a constant state of adjustment.” Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962


Zoos and aquariums have undergone a renaissance since the 1960s as they have evolved and grown, just like the environments they teach about. Since that time, the delicate balance of research, conservation, education, and entertainment has shifted drastically at these institutions, requiring directors to need as many arms as Enteroctopus membranaceus (octopus) to keep all the plates in the air and spinning. Shifts often occurred as institutions placed greater value on one aspect only to discover that, like in nature, all must be maintained equally.


PGAV Destinations interviewed five leaders in the American zoo and aquarium world to learn about this rapid evolution and the intricate complexities of balancing these four pillars in their strategic operations. Te answers are more challenging than finding Gigantopithecus Canadensis (Bigfoot).


While all of these pioneers come from very different institutions, they all agree on one simple principle: touch the heart to teach the mind. By connecting guests in deeply emotional, valuable ways to the animals under their care, these institutions are able to grow the public’s awareness of the challenges these creatures face in the wild – and spur visitors to take action.


Each expert possesses their own unique take on how to touch the hearts of their guests. Whether it’s through one-on-one interactions with rare animals, heart- pounding shows, reaching them through their hand-held gizmos, or physically redesigning their institutions to meet today’s shifting family demographics, their innovative approaches to “touch the heart to teach the mind” are revealed in this issue of Destinology.


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