National Zoo in DC
May 09:
Small Mammal House:
Species:
Rock Hyrax
Prevost's Squirrel
Brush-tailed Bettong
Naked Mole-rat
The display that went beyond text on a panel was the naked mole-rat display. There was a glass window in which we could see the internal architecture of the moles play area. People are then able to see the numerous tubes the moles crawl through to reach the homes that are displayed on the front side. This showcased visually how the naked mole-rats may surrage under in the dirt which was informative.
I think the education level of the hall was made for middle school and above because to actually understand the information presented you would have to read the descriptions on the panels. Children younger would still be able to view the animals and understand how they move and interact with their species if they were placed with others.
I mostly see people just walk around and view the animals rather than read most of the panels unless it was an animal that may have intrigued them. But for the most part, people mostly took a visual approach.
Amazonia:
Species:
Amazonia Rays
Barbels
Redtail Catfish
Freshwater Angelfish
I think the display that went beyond just text on a panel was what felt like an indoor amazon which was located upstairs. There we were walking around and the pink birds were freely roaming around us which I thought was cool. I don't think it was extremely informative but I thought it was cool to see them not behind a glass.
I believe the hall was aimed for middle school students and above due to the panels of text which requires some level of comprehension.
I believe I saw a decent amount of people reading the information plaques because there is not much information you can gain just by looking at the species.
Education:
Two instances in which I thought the zoo did a good job at showing information in a non panel way would be as previously mentioned the mole-rat display case and at the Amazonia in which there was a screen which showed the electromagnetism of eels in a display. These showcased the species in a different way which is usually seen if just looking at the species front facing.
Animal Mental/Emotional Welfare:
Two things I noticed that provided the animals a more comfortable and interesting display was that the armadillos had small colorful balls that they could play around with and I believe the brush-tailed bettongs had a large enclosure and many of their friends who they could play around with. The bettongs had lots of boxes and structures they could hop and scram around.