Zoo Boise

Getting to Zoo Boise was an adventure all its own – I’d never been to the Pacific Northwest, and seeing the mountains of Boise after driving through the deserts of Utah was a welcome view.

            Zoo Boise is in the heart of downtown Boise and nestled in the larger Julia Davis Park. It was a smaller zoo than some of the ones I visited throughout the trip, but it definitely utilized all of its space and offered a wide range of exhibits. I could see easily how the zoo was a classroom for the education department.

            Education at Zoo Boise was a lot like the zoo: it wasn’t massive but it was very multi-faceted. A pre-school program designed solely by Zoo Boise allowed for children aged three to five to be introduced to zoo animals. The animal artifacts used in programs weren’t just there as a supplement, they had fact sheets attached which included ‘Teachable Concepts’ about the artifact and connected them to zoo animals on exhibit. Their volunteer program included opportunities for teens and adults. The teen program was both an opportunity to teach the public and to educate the teens on zoo topics or job skills. Adult volunteers could be Naturalists educating at immersive exhibits or working as animal care volunteers. The summer camps were one of their most complex programs, with wide ranges of subjects and ages served. They were also valued as a revenue generator.

            Zoo Boise is a public-private zoo, funded both by the city and a private non-profit. The city of Boise funded operating costs through tax dollars, which was why education programs were discounted for Boise residents. In addition, a non-profit

called the Friends of Zoo Boise helped fund the education department, including salaries.

            Zoo Boise had designed many of its own programs and looked to the future for more. They were interested in creating adult programming when they had the resources and funds to do so. Their process of designing programming pulled from established resources such as Project Wild, but they also heavily focused on animals held in the education collection.

Here was the giraffe after happily accepting my offer of a lettuce leaf.

Overall Zoo Boise emphasized a hands-on approach with all of its education. I could see that they fostered a connection through direct interaction with the animals, whether through demonstrations, sloth bear feedings, or giraffe encounters. Zoo Boise wanted those participating in education programs as well as general zoo visitors to have opportunities to see and even touch animals close up in order to foster educational opportunities.