Event name: Smithsonian National Zoological Park Excursion
Event time and place: May 4th, 2025 9:45 am
Throughout the United States, Zoos serve as vital places of education and conservation of species. It provides an outlet for many to learn about the importance of biodiversity and conservation efforts aimed to protect it. During my visit, I explored many different exhibits and learned a lot about how each species survives in their respective environments, and how they’ve benefited those environments.
Specifically, I explored the small mammal house. Many different small mammals were displayed and their plaques displayed information of what they like to eat. For example, we were told that the Golden-headed Lion Tamarin usually forages for fruits and insects as their main diets. There are also fun facts that are unique to them. For example, it was said that the Northern Tree Shrew has milk with 25% fat which helps their young to be sustained for a longer period of time. We can also see that Fennec Foxes have larger ears to hunt prey since it has a higher hearing sensitivity. Additionally, it was said that the La Plata Three-banded Armadillo can roll into a ball to provide extra protection other than a simple armor plate. Now these animals may be the main attraction within this exhibit, there are also various displays of x-rays that show the unique body parts of these small mammals and the advantages they give to them in the wild. They were generally pretty informative in helping me understand these animals. I believe this exhibit is catered towards kids from the 6th grade to the 12th grade because the information presented in the plaques is more scientific and asks for help which many children may not do if their decisions are still involving parents. Despite this, many people seem to be more focused on the animal other than reading the plaques. I also explored the Amazonia house on a tour with Dr. Merck. This exhibit, as in the name, featured many species of animals found in the Amazon forest. Some of those animals are the Roseate Spoonbill, Scarlet Ibis, Poison Dart Frogs, and the Arowana. The plaques displayed similar information as the small mammal house where it was mostly food that these animals ate and any fun facts. This exhibit also had some interactive parts of it. There was an electric eel activity where both ends were oppositely charged and if you touched both ends it should light up a screen. Despite this, they didn’t have an eclectic eel shown nor did the activity work. I believe, again this exhibit is catered towards kids from the 6th grade to the 12th grade because the information within the plaques have more scientific language and concepts that younger kids may have trouble understanding. Despite this, many people still seemed to be more focused on the animal other than the information on the plaques. As mentioned before, the zoo provides people with many different interactive displays and immersive displays that don’t just show animals within a cage. They deepen a person’s understanding as they are able to be more involved in their learning. Then again, the zoo also has guided workshops and exhibits that provide a more in depth description of an animal that might’ve not been known from the plaques. For example, the zoo has a guided experience on the seals that allows people to learn more about how they survive in the wild. The zoo itself aims to protect these animals while making the public more informed on issues regarding those animals. But to do so effectively, the wellbeing of animals must be considered. These zoos have catered exhibits to accurately represent the animal’s natural environment. For example, Pygmy Slow Loris is nocturnal so their exhibit will be in a darker environment so that people are able to still see the animal in its more comfortable setting. There are also seals who are in cooler waters and have balls used for their enrichment and for our viewing in keeping us engaged in the seal’s behavior. Overall this experience has exposed me to the variety of animals that require the support of conservation efforts and how they benefit the environment.