Gone are the barren, wire mesh cages. Gone are the high walls and concrete enclosures. In their places are comfortable, well-ventilated exhibits, low-rise barriers at knee level and a new attitude that says, ”Go ahead, touch.”
The newly renovated Pritzker Children`s Zoo at Lincoln Park Zoo opens Monday and represents a new age in zoo thinking. ”The entire thrust and development were done with the guidance of the education department,” says the zoo`s assistant director, Dennis Meritt. The architectural plan was developed to fulfill that complex design and to satisfy the needs of the animals.
Indeed, it was the Lincoln Park Zoo that pioneered the idea of a year-round children`s zoo in 1959. Marlin Perkins, then zoo director, was responsible for combining the old zoo nursery in the Lion House with a permanent petting zoo. Zoos all over the world have expanded on Perkins` idea.
Lincoln Park`s director, Lester Fisher, says, ”While the structure served the zoo well throughout the 1960s, today it would be totally inadequate. We`ve learned so much since 1959 about animal care and about making the children`s zoo more esthetically presentable. Most important, it`s a great opportunity for our education department. It`s the only place in the zoo where people can interact with the collection and learn first-hand about nature.”
In the fall of 1985, shortly before his death, Perkins talked about the proposed renovation of his ”baby,” the nursery and children`s zoo. Perkins, host of Mutual of Omaha`s ”Wild Kingdom” and director emeritis of the St. Louis Zoo at the time of his death, was no longer officially involved with Lincoln Park Zoo, but it was still close to his heart. ”I`m just thrilled about the plans,” he said. ”It`ll always be my contribution at Lincoln Park that I`m most proud of.”
Nearly three years and $3.4 million later, the new children`s zoo is opening with new animals, a new nursery and new grounds that includes a mini- museum. In 1959, the Lincoln Park Zoo, like most other zoos at the time, didn`t even have an education department.
”Exhibits are no longer found off in a corner,” explains Chuck Harris, the zoo`s project manager for construction. ”We don`t want people to search for animals, then still miss half of them.” Harris adds that the new design should improve the traffic pattern in the building.
CHILDREN WATCHING CHILDREN
Judy Kolar, the zoo`s curator of education, says, ”Children love looking at other children.” That`s why there`s 36 feet of glass spanning the length of the new zoo nursery. ”I know the kids will have their noses pressed against the glass looking at zoo babies. We`ll also post the baby animals`
charts for people to read.” Behind the incubators found in the sterile nursery are glass doors that open to a new, bright, skylit exercise area.
”Children can see baby animals in action, and they`ll notice that those babies need care just as human babies do,” Kolar says.
Next to the nursery is the glass-enclosed, trendy looking open kitchen.
”In the old building, you could barely peek into the kitchen,” Kolar says. ”People line up to see the food being prepared. Now it`ll be easy to view.” Recipe cards will be posted on the glass. ”One of the most frequent questions asked at the children`s zoo is, `What do the animals eat?` ” Kolar says. Recipe names include Porcupine`s Pleasure, Tarantula`s Treats and Turtle Hash.
Along the west wall, where Chimmy the chimpanzee once lived, an 8-foot-square graphic says, ”Welcome to Our World of Animals.” Like all the new graphics, it encourages particpation, like a game. In this graphic, kids pick out animals according to a color code, then learn about their characteristics. Graphics, virtually nonexistent in the old building, are featured at inside and outside exhibits. Sue Ellis Joseph, manager of the children`s zoo and assistant curator of birds, calls them ”elegantly simple.” Each is only a couple of feet off the ground, just the level for its intended readers.
Three new demonstration areas, two outside and one indoors, encourage participation. Volunteers or keepers will talk informally about a ”guest”
animal to whatever group happens to gather. Only a couple of rocks or a ledge separate those animals and the keeper from the crowd. Naturally, the animals used in these demonstrations-like armadillos, ferrets and, if Kolar gets her way, tarantulas-will be no threat to the public. In the case of armadillos and ferrets, the kids and adults will be encouraged to pet the critters.
Outdoors a new enclosed pen, called the Hands-On Zoo, lets children visit the resident African pygmy goats. Animal Arena is one area that hasn`t been touched. Regularly scheduled talks will continue to be presented by volunteers and keepers with various animals, like the barn owl, kestrel and opossum.
IN TOUCH WITH NATURE
”Anyone can go to the zoo to see nature,” Fisher says. ”Only in the children`s zoo can you touch nature.”
To this end, the outdoor area has been renovated to be more naturalistic. The animals found outdoors are native to the Midwest, and there are examples of five habitats: aquatic, semi-terrestrial, terrestrial, arborial and subterranean.
These areas are called animal community exhibits, where various birds, reptiles and mammals share the same home. Natural plantings and a stream have been added. ”Our goal is to simulate, not duplicate, nature,” Kolar says.
”We hope to present the illusion of a forest community. You`ll have to look up to find the vulture and down along the ground for the box turtle.”
Kids` Corner: A Discovery Place is new to the children`s zoo. This is the hands-on children`s museum. ”The object is for kids to learn and discover and, hopefully, reinforce what they`ve learned elsewhere in the zoo,” says Kolar, who created and developed the concept. The room is staffed by zoo personnel, but no one will ever say, ”Don`t touch.”
Children can sit in little animal-shaped chairs to look at various artifacts. There are buttons to push and levers to pull and real animals to inspect. They can experience nature up close by looking through a magnifier or walk through a tunnel that depicts the world through the eyes of the animals. Suggested for children aged 4 and up, Kids` Corner is free, and the kids must be accompanied by an adult.
The new Pritzker Children`s Zoo is vastly different from the original. But as Fisher points out, the concept is the one originated by Perkins. ”It`s still a place to touch other life forms, get to know them and, hopefully, appreciate them more.” –
