When I arrived at
the Little Rock Zoo, I found it nestled in the heart of the city,
surrounded by bustling businesses and stadiums. I also arrived after
6 hours on the road and driving through states I'd never even
visited, so I had a lot to learn about its location. The zoo is a
city zoo, but being the only accredited zoo for miles it served all
of Arkansas as well as parts of surrounding states like Louisiana. It was small in terms of
acreage, but while I was there I found it had a big heart and a huge
future.
In front of the education building
I visited Little
Rock first simply because of geographic location, but now at the end
of my trip, I've found that seeing it first gave me a much needed
perspective on a time I'm sure many zoos go through: a recovery. The
Little Rock Zoo had suffered a slashed budget over the years when the economy took a downturn. At the time when I first made
contact with them in 2010, their main curator was also
serving as the education curator. Even in 2012 they only have two
education employees, relying heavily on volunteer efforts, and have
limited programming. But I did find that they had surprisingly intact
and functioning infrastructure. Little Rock has an education
building, an amphitheater for education shows, they have animals for
education (including a birds of prey collection) and an education
keeper. Even though they'd had to slow down their education
department, it never came to a stop, and seemed to be gaining speed
again steadily.
Although it sounds
like Little Rock would be running a very bare-bones level of
programming, they still have great programs in place and a large
amount of them. They were described as very basic, but flexible. A
simple program called Creature Feature which involves two zoo
representatives and three animals could travel and be customized for
any age level or venue. The staples of zoo camps and birthday parties
were an integral part of the programs, and served a large range of
age groups. And looking towards the future, the employees were
anticipating the re-implementation of programs they'd had to
downgrade, such as zoo snoozes and teen volunteering.
The most important
thing I learned at Little Rock, mostly through my interview with the
education curator, was the importance of balance. At a zoo in
recovery I expected them to be focused on logistics and growth, but
there was still thought put into complex thinking and philosophies of
education. This sense of balance between many intersecting ideas within zoo education was one I found almost every zoo
striving for, though few were articulating it as concretely. It is found between emphasizing the scientific aspects of
animals and enclosures as well as guiding visitors to an intrinsic
connection with the natural world. A middle ground is struggled for
as zoos try to transition into a modern view of conservation and
distance from animals within the physical setting of a zoo while
still recognizing (or actively fighting) the cultural history of
visitors feeding and 'playing' with zoo animals. Zoos also must try
to balance educational values of connecting exotic animals with the
cultures and people that share those geographical areas without
becoming insensitive or appropriative. As education curator Carla Collette put succinctly, "Get out and explore nature, but understand nature."
This was something
that Little Rock was promoting and something I found reflected in so
many of the zoo education departments I visited after Arkansas. The
sense that the education department of a zoo was giving this
opportunity to explore nature in more close-up ways with programming
like animal interactions and behind-the-scenes tours, but also
teaching visitors to understand it.
I am glad now that
I waited until my trip was over to begin these entries, because it
was my very first stop here that ended up teaching me about every
other zoo, and guiding me on what to look for. I enjoyed every zoo I
visited and can not wait to see them again, but I am especially
excited to follow the Little Rock Zoo as it makes what I expect will
be an impressive comeback.
Little Rock Zoo
Basics Overview:
- Number of employees: 2
- Funding: Public, city
- Facilities: one main education building including offices and event space, amphitheater with attached holding for education animals
- Education/program animals: Yes. Education animals part of education department and used in programming.
- Volunteers: Yes. Docent program (with hopes to revive teen program).
