Carol D. Saunders

Zoo experiences: conversations, connections, and concern for animals.

One way in which zoos attempt to fulfill their goal of conservation is by educating visitors about the importance of protecting wildlife. Research has only begun to examine the effectiveness of zoos in place-based learning, and there has been much debate about how such informal learning is defined and measured. Free-choice learning research has demonstrated that educational outcomes are often indirect, constructed by the visitor as much as they are influenced by the zoos educational staff. This constructivist definition of education includes emotional dimensions and personal meaning-making that occur in the social context of visiting, as well as any structured interpretive material provided on signs and through live presentations. This paper presents an examination of how the zoo is experienced by the visitor, through surveys and through observations of how visitors watch animals and incorporate those viewings into their social experience. Results from surveys of 206 zoo visitors show that support for protecting both individual animals and species is associated with learning, with wanting to know more, and with a feeling of connection to the animal. An analysis of 1,900 overheard visitor conversations suggests that zoo animals are used to facilitate topical interaction among social groups and to explore the connections that people share with nonhuman animals. The authors propose that these perceived positive connections may be related to support for conservation initiatives, and conclude that a visit to the zoo appears to be a positive emotional experience that leaves visitors interested in learning more about animals, irrespective of their reading the exhibit labels.

Moral and fearful affiliations with the animal world: children's conceptions of bats

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to extend knowledge on how children understand their affiliation with an animal that can evoke both fear and care: bats. We interviewed 120 children, evenly divided between four age groups (6–7, 9–10, 12–13, and 15–16 years) after each child had visited an exhibit at Brookfield Zoo that displays Rodrigues fruit bats. Results showed that in the same children a fear orientation toward bats existed alongside of a caring orientation. Children accorded bats the right to live free and to be wild. Yet most of the same children also said that zoos did not violate the rights of bats by keeping them in captivity. Discussion focuses on this seeming contradiction, and the resulting implications for the ecological mission of many zoos today.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Rewards in a Nonformal Environmental Education Program

Humans are surrounded by threats to the environment, many of their own making. The severity of environmental problems will not decrease unless action is taken to develop and encourage greater environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) in the general populace. Environmental education (EE) is one method for strengthening precursors to ERB such as knowledge and attitudes, but research on the connection is currently unclear. In this paper we present the results of a study investigating the role played by rewards in encouraging ERB precursors for adults and children involved in a zoo-based Nature Swap program. We used semistructured interviews to question 91 participants, including 38 children, 38 adult guardians, and 15 staff members regarding the importance of rewards in the program. We content analyzed the interviews to identify and describe major themes and then coded them. We found that adult guardians and Play Partners perceived intrinsic and extrinsic rewards as aiding in maintaining motivation and interest in the nonformal Nature Swap program. In addition, both children and adult companion participants in the program mentioned strengthened precursors to ERB. Overall we found that adult companions perceived that children who participated in the program spent more quality time outdoors and had a heightened awareness of their surroundings as a result of program-based rewards. Implications for other EE and conservation education programs are discussed.