Zoos & Aquariums : A Research Guide: Design, Interpretation & Education

The vision of a garden shared peacefully by humans and animals is a familiar, but elusive, landscape trope. Whether threatened by habitat destruction or climate change, displaced by urbanization or invasive species, poisoned by industrial toxins, or hunted to extinction, many wild animals have failed to thrive in the company of people. There is growing scientific consensus that we are in the midst of the sixth great extinction in earth history and the first caused by human activities. What agency can landscape architects and garden designers have in conserving or restoring wildlife diversity? "Designing Wildlife Habitats" gathers essays by designers, scientists, and historians to explore how they might better collaborate to promote zoological biodiversity and how scientific ambitions might be expressed in culturally significant and historically informed design. Established conservation practices within ecology have begun to shape landscape architecture, and current initiatives in ecosystem services, restoration ecology, and designer-generated ecological experiments provide an enlarged role for landscape architects in the creation of productive habitats. Design has become increasingly instrumental to both the appearance and the ecological function of landscapes."

Interpretive Master Planning presents - in two comprehensive volumes - a wealth of information on how to plan and design interpretive facilities and services.John Veverka's lively text uses anecdotes, case histories and interactive examples to illustrate every aspect of the interpretive process: from how to decide exactly what to interpret, and how best to do it, through to effective planning, implementation - and very much more. Interpretive Master Planning is the most comprehensive reference book on the subject - over 650 pages in two volumes - an invaluable resource for designing interpretation that really works. "Here is knowledge based on years of national and international interpretive planning projects with parks, museums, commercial attractions and a variety of other agencies. This is a classic work by an author who does interpretive planning every day."- Gary R Moore, Program Coordinator, MetroParks, Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio.

A comprehensive handbook of communication techniques for natural resource program guides and interpreters.

Every year millions of Americans visit national parks and monuments, state and municipal parks, battlefields, historic houses, and museums. By means of guided walks and talks, tours, exhibits, and signs, visitors experience these areas through a very special kind of communication technique known as "interpretation." For fifty years, Freeman Tilden's Interpreting Our Heritage has been an indispensable sourcebook for those who are responsible for developing and delivering interpretive programs. This expanded and revised anniversary edition includes not only Tilden's classic work but also an entirely new selection of accompanying photographs, five additional essays by Tilden on the art and craft of interpretation, a new foreword by former National Park Service director Russell Dickenson, and an introduction by R. Bruce Craig that puts Tilden's writings into perspective for present and future generations. Whether the challenge is to make a prehistoric site come to life; to explain the geological basis behind a particular rock formation; to touch the hearts and minds of visitors to battlefields, historic homes, and sites; or to teach a child about the wonders of the natural world, Tilden's book, with its explanation of the famed "six principles" of interpretation, provides a guiding hand. For anyone interested in our natural and historic heritage--park volunteers and rangers, museum docents and educators, new and seasoned professional heritage interpreters, and those lovingly characterized by Tilden as "happy amateurs--Interpreting Our Heritage and Tilden's later interpretive writings, included in this edition, collectively provide the essential foundation for bringing into focus the truths that lie beyond what the eye sees.

This is the third edition of previously titled Interpretation for the 21st Century. In this newest edition the authors focus on the fifteen guiding principles of earlier versions of the book with a focus on how each of the principles is a gift, for example, of story, revelation, provocation, beauty, passion. This book has served as a university text and is used by the interpretative profession in many federal agencies (National Park Service), state agencies, regional and local interpretative centres, zoos, aquaria, museums, and other interpretative sites. The book has been used internationally and has been translated into Chinese.

The role of education in museums has increasingly become a major professional concern. Engaging, informative, and even entertaining programs can make an enormous difference in a museum's popularity, bringing in visitors of all ages, from the local community and beyond. The proliferation of recent publications on museum education and the promotion of workshops and training seminars for museum staff have reinforced the need for creativity, excellence, and accountability in museum educational programs. The Museum Educator's Manual addresses the role museum educators play in today's museums from an experience-based perspective. Seasoned museum educators author each chapter, emphasizing key programs along with case studies that provide successful examples, and demonstrate a practical foundation for the daily operations of a museum education department no matter how small. The book covers volunteer management and training; exhibit design; program and event design and implementation; working with families, seniors, and teens; collaborating with schools and other institutions; and funding. With invaluable checklists, schedules, organizational charts, program examples, and other how-to documents included throughout, The Museum Educator's Manual is a "must have" book for any museum educator."

Founded on the premise that zoos are 'bilingual'--that the zoo, in the shape of its staff and exhibits, and its visitors speak distinct languages--this enlightening analysis of the informal learning that occurs in zoos examines the 'speech' of exhibits and staff as well as the discourse of visitors beginning in the earliest years. Using real-life conversations among visitors as a basis for discussion, the authors interrogate children's responses to the exhibits and by doing so develop an 'informal learning model' and a 'zoo knowledge model' that prompts suggestions for activities that classroom educators can use before, during, and after a zoo visit. Their analysis of the 'visitor voice' informs creative suggestions for how to enhance the educational experiences of young patrons. By assessing visitors' entry knowledge and their interpretations of the exhibits, the authors establish a baseline for zoos that helps them to refine their communication with visitors, for example in expanding knowledge of issues concerning biodiversity and biological conservation. The book includes practical advice for zoo and classroom educators about positive ways to prepare for zoo visits, engaging activities during visits, and follow-up work that maximizes the pedagogical benefits. It also reflects on the interplay between the developing role of zoos as facilitators of learning, and the ways in which zoos help visitors assimilate the knowledge on offer. In addition to being essential reading for educators in zoos and in the classroom, this volume is full of insights with much broader contextual relevance for getting the most out of museum visits and field trips in general.