Other than the TV show was a marketing role and regular press releases and development of a marketing department that concentrated on marketing the zoo. We also opened a catering department at the zoo to attract banquets and other activities from professional people as a way of thinking that might… Read More
When you finished as director, how would you say fundraising has changed and the director’s involvement in it?… Read More
Did you have any successful strategies that you implemented for getting the community involved in the zoo?… Read More
I did some involvement with the university. I approached all the universities in the area and arranged and encouraged the curators to become guest lecturers. They would become guest lecturers at University of Missouri, at St. Louis University, Washington University. As a result of that as I progressed up the… Read More
And so that’s how I got my staff professionally involved and the zoo involved with the education and scientific institutions. Many of the curators now have adjunct professor associations with these schools, in addition to the veterinary school at University of Missouri-Columbia. Read More
You might as well not waste your resources on ’em but spend your time on people that are most accessible. You had mentioned one exhibit, the children’s zoo. Read More
When you first got there, what was the children’s zoo like and how did you think about what you wanted to change in it?… Read More
The children’s zoo was in existence, but it was mostly touchy-feely, exciting, oh wow. I wanted to add a stronger educational component to the children’s zoo, so the children’s zoo would be used more by school groups. So I took the children’s zoo which was a freestanding entity and put… Read More
I don’t know the answer to that. But maybe it’s through the internet and television. Read More
How do you capture children to come to the zoo?… Read More
And I’m specifically thinking the teenage group. School groups come in organized school groups at all grade levels. It’s probably more heavily used for the primary level. By the time they get teenagers in high school, their programs are sophisticated and concentrated that it’s hard to have time out from… Read More
In the case of St. Louis Zoo, our attendance has constantly increased. They’re in the neighborhood of about 3 1/2 million visitors. I won’t say they’re saturated. I think everything has been done since I retired. But even while I was workin’ at the zoo, every year was better than… Read More
Maybe I’m wrong. But that’s the only 225 communities. There are a lot more communities in the country that don’t have zoos. Read More
So what we have to do is find out how can our zoo influence people in communities that don’t have access to a zoo?… Read More
I guess my biggest dream was underwater viewing of polar bears but the zoo is now accomplishing that. It’s under construction as we speak. Be another year before it’s completed. The only problem would be finding polar bears, but they’ve been pretty well assured that there will be captive polar… Read More
And I don’t know that that’s a high priority with the administration at this time or not. Time will tell. People in zoos. Read More
Are there any ideas, new ideas, old ideas to go about getting people to come to zoos that you particularly like or would endorse or they work for you?… Read More
How important do you feel it is for animal keepers and curators to see other zoo exhibits in the United States or around the world as part of their professional growth?… Read More
I think it’s very important that the curators participate in the North American Zoo Association and that they visit as many zoos as possible. I feel the same way with the keepers. Every time we buy or sell or ship animals. If we can ship ’em ourselves and let our… Read More
What had you hoped to accomplish at the St. Louis Zoo, but you were unable to finish it?… Read More