ZooLex Guideline for animal exhibit presentations
Have you seen examples of ZooLex animal exhibit presentations in the ZooLex Gallery? - This
is a guideline for preparing such presentations. We recomend to use this guideline for filling in
the ZooLex template.
Forms 1 to 10
You need not fill in all empty spaces. If a subject given does not apply to the exhibit you are
desribing, just leave the relevant space empty or put in n/a for not available. Please do not write
more than 200 words about each topic. If you do we might have to edit and shorten your text.
Form 1
LOCATION (ZOO)
Give the official name and contact of the institution.
Form 2
Name of animal exhibit
Use a name for the exhibit that is self explanatory. This helps finding it in the ZooLex database.
KEYWORDS (exhibit topic, message, etc.)
Keywords should relate to the type of animal exhibit, the habitat replicated, and anything
newsworthy. For example: mixed species, naturalistic, African rainforest, immersion etc.
Keywords are saved in the ZooLex database and help to retrieve the description. Think about
terms you would look for when searching for this specific exhibit type.
ANIMALS for which exhibit is designed
Please give scientific species names and be careful with spelling. The max. number should be
given in the format "males.females.offspring", for example "1.1.2".
As number and species of animals in the exhibit are changing please specify for which number
and animal species the exhibit is planned. If this is not determined please give number and
species of animals in the exhibit at the time of your documentation.
AWARDS gained
Form 3
SIZE of exhibit
Accessible areas are those that can be physically used. The measure for accessible areas
excludes planting beds, moats and the like. Areas not accessible to animals or visitors should be
included in the total figures. Other areas given in the table will mostly relate to the keepers'
areas. Use text to explain your figures. Also give dimensions in cubic meters or liters in the text
if the dimension is relevant to the species confined. If the exhibit is part of a larger entity please
give a dimension for the whole entity, too. Please don't use the table for text or measures other
than square meters. Please use the text field for this purpose. If figures are not available please
estimate. Please give figures in squaremeters (m2) from measures or estimates. Format:
10000.50 (points are decimal points).
The size of an exhibit given in square feet (ft2) can be converted into square meter (m2) by a
multiplication by 0.09. For example: 1500 ft2 multiplied by 0.09 equates 135 m2.
COSTS of exhibit
Format: Use a decimal point and a colon for thousands, for example 1,000.50 for thousand and
a half (points are decimal points).
Please describe allocation of means for design, construction and maintainance
The total exhibit costs include contracted work and work that was done in-house as well as
salaries for additional staff that was hired for design or construction. Often these costs are not
included in the figures available. In this case please describe which part of the total costs was
covered by the amount given. Estimates of yearly operation costs for an exhibit also help to get
a realistic picture of the allocation of means. These costs are caused by resources, equipment,
and manpower necessary for animal care and for the maintenance and operation of exhibit
structures and features.
Form 4
Beginning of DESIGN
Beginning of CONSTRUCTION
OPENING DATE
Format: 2000 May 31 (Please write months in words.)
Design Firms
Construction Firms
Please specify the city and country of location of the firms you list. The email address and fax
number are only for ZooLex internal use.
Form 5
LOCAL CONDITIONS
We will add this information for you.
Form 6
PLANTS:
Please describe the intentions for choosing certain plant species and use scientific (Latin)
names for the plant list. Don't forget to specify plants that have grown in the exhibit before its
construction and are being kept. You may illustrate stages of introduction of other management
techniques and events accounting for changes over time in the description.
Form 7
Please give a general DESCRIPTION of the exhibit stating its purpose and main features
Please explain the layout and the major features of the exhibit. Please mention the context for
design and construction. Was the design a defined stage of an existing master plan? Was it a
renovation of an existing building?
Form 8
Please give descriptions of exhibit FEATURES DEDICATED TO
THE ANIMAL in the exhibit
Please describe which features of the exhibit are meant to support the animals' physiological and
psychological wellbeing. You may also describe issues of operation and maintenance that are
critical for the management of the animals as features dedicated to animals. Please do not
describe what the animals are fed unless it is necessary to understand the design of the exhibit.
THE KEEPER in charge of the exhibit
The living quality of a zoo animal very much depends on the motivation of its keepers. Keepers
first can observe symptoms of health and sickness. Methods of behavior and environment
enrichment for zoo animals mostly rely on keepers. A safe and pleasant environment and
adequate responsibility are important prerequisites for keepers' commitments. Please describe
the elements of security, convenience and responsiblity incorporated to the animal exhibit as
features dedicated to keepers. Please do not describe the keepers's tasks except those necessary
to understand the design of the exhibit.
THE VISITOR to the exhibit
People have specific expectations when visiting an animal exhibit. Basically, the visitor desires a
safe, enjoyable and entertaining experience. Safety from the visitor's perspective is ensured when
the environment feels safe, protection from hazards is obvious, accessibility and orientation are
easy. Provisions also should respect the different abilities of zoo visitors. An enjoyable exhibit is
one that is aesthetically pleasant, inviting to stay, and interesting to experience. The entertaining
part of an exhibit relates to features attracting the visitors' interest. Everything that can be
actively explored and involves several senses is entertaining to visitors. Please describe which
exhibit elements contribute to the visitors' safety, pleasure and entertainment as features
dedicated to visitors.
Form 9
INTERPRETATION
Please describe devices for education about and interpretation of the exhibit: Describe
provisions taken on the site to support visitors' concentration on the exhibit message, provisions
take to support visitors' motivation to grasp information going beyond the obvious and
documented efforts of the institution to develop learning devices by using tools of evaluation.
Please do not give us the text of signs or feeding times unless it is necessary to understand the
design of the exhibit.
MANAGEMENT
Please describe management practices and issues pertaining to the management of the exhibit:
How to shift animals between indoors and outdoors, special procedures for maintenance of the
exhibit, and animals behavior enrichment are examples for issues pertaining to the management
of the exhibit.
RESEARCH
Please describe research projects undertaken for evaluating the exhibit, visitor and animal
studies.
Form 10
CONSERVATION
Please describe how the institution serves the wild population of the exhibited species.
Careful use of local resources is another conservation issue. Please describe the institution's
considerations for the integration of exhibit topic, construction site and exhibit layout, its efforts
to save resources within construction, operation and maintenance. The closer the character of
the existing site is to the envisioned character of the exhibit, the fewer efforts are necessary for
its construction and maintenance. The more remote the desired microclimatic conditions in an
exhibit are from those inherent to its site, the more energy and effort are required to maintain the
desired artificial conditions. Other aspects influencing energy consumption are the selection of
materials and technologies, exposure to the sun, use of plants, waste treatment, etc.
LOCAL RESOURCES
Please describe the institutions's efforts to involve local people and to include local resources in
the design, construction or operation of the exhibit: Sometimes local residents have been
involved in the design process or production of special parts for an exhibit, sometimes they
volunteer for educational programs. Please describe their involvement related to the exhibit.
Form 11
Please prepare images in jpg or gif format ( for PC), using RGB colors, and scale them down to
a maximum of 800 x 800 pixel. The final file size should be about 100 kB. If you submit files
larger than the specified size we will have to scale and compress them.
OVERVIEW
Show the exhibit's location within the institution in a schematic overview. For example you may
scan the zoo folder's plan.
SITE PLAN
An illustrative plan of the exhibit is useful. Make sure that there is a North arrow and a scale on
the illustrative plan.
PICTURE VIEWS
You may make a copy of the exhibit plan and put labels with the picture numbers and arrows for
the view direction in the copy of the site plan. Position each label on the plan where the
corresponding picture was taken. You may do this digitally with a graphics program if you
prefer. You may use the numbers and arrows provided. Scale them as needed. Then copy and
paste them into your plan. The files are here for downloading.
Form 12
Please prepare images in jpg or gif format (for PC), using RGB colors, and scale them down to a
maximum of 800 x 800 pixel. The final file size should be about 100 kB. If you submit files larger
than the specified size we will have to scale and compress them.
Choose pictures showing important features of the exhibit and animals using them, an overview
of the outdoor exhibits, the indoor exhibits, the holding areas, the visitor areas, the keeper areas,
boundaries, rockwork, plants, water features, interpretive devices, people using them, etc. If you
are using someone else's pictures please make sure they may be published in ZooLex.
Order your pictures as you want them to appear in your exhibit presentation. Number the
pictures for reference. (The numbers may refer to the plan showing the picture views.)
Number 1 should be a nice animal picture in landscape format. This picture will represent your
exhibit in the index of all exhibit presentations.
You need not give a description of the image unless you feel it helps to understand its focus, but
you are welcome to do so.
Revised September, 2002
If you find a mistake in this help or miss something please inform
ZooLex Zoo Design Organization
Sobieskigasse 9/12
A-1090 Vienna
zoolex@zoolex.org
www.zoolex.org