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YOU’VE GOT A BIT OF A UNIQUE SET-UP OVER THERE, RIGHT?


We do! We have a full-service design shop of 30 architects, landscapers, exhibit developers, graphic designers, and more which create things for all five of our New York City parks and some other select organizations.


WHAT’S IT LIKE TYING FIVE DIFFERENT ZOOS AND AQUARIUMS TOGETHER AS ONE ENTITY?


All five are very different entities – Prospect Park Zoo is locally targeted and geared towards children; Queens Zoo is based on North and South America fauna and is also locally targeted; New York Aquarium is still only partially open but evolving greatly as that part of the city evolves; Central Park gets the most visitors being right in the heart of the city; and the Bronx Zoo has everything drawing large numbers of guests from the tri-state. We try to be the central brain of the five and carry lessons from one to the next. Te common consistency is that we try to connect guests’ visits to the work we’re doing out in the field, which we’re still growing at the smaller zoos.


HOW HAVE YOU SEEN THE BLEND OF EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT EVOLVE AT YOUR ZOOS?


Te goal is to foster a love of wildlife – that’s an emotional response, which is a gateway to more cognitive learning. Learning has always taken place through the whole context, and people continue to learn through creative ways. For a while that trend was learning through play, and that’s where you see


ChIn Vice President of Planning and Design & Chief Architect, Wildlife Conservation Society


how we’ve designed a lot of our exhibits – with mechanical interactives, graphics, and now more technology. Tat’s the latest trend – technology. You just want to be sure you’re not using technology just for the sake of it – you want the right tool for the best way to engage someone in a particular story or conversation. No matter the technology, our strength is the live animal. Tere will never be anything like sitting on the other side of the glass from a live gorilla.


ANYTHING EXCITING IN THE PIPELINE?


Our new 55,000 sq. ft. shark exhibit. When you’re standing anywhere in New York City, you just see blue water – and people think it’s just deep nothingness just below. But New Yorkers are a lot more aware of the water surrounding us after hurricane Sandy. We’re going to reveal the beautiful, unexpected things below the surface – sea horses, sea stars, anemones, and a canyon as big as the Grand Canyon right off of the coast. We’re going to connect the city to the water all around it and the life beneath it.


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