I think it’s vital. Zoos have very limited resources. I mean, you, you add all the acreages together, you add all the re all the, all the operating dollars together. It’s not that big of a number. Those aren’t big numbers. Okay? There are people out there with private collections… Read More
And that’s why we have to stay connected and that’s why we have to be there. But I’m concerned nationally about the opinion of people regarding zoos, that, that the perception and support of zoos and their missions is declining nationally. Would you say, when I ask what major direction… Read More
And, and the more of us and utilizing natural resources, we need to be conserving those resources more and more so that they’re there for future generations. So I think trying to be a holistic educator is very, very important to, and you know, the old saying is you don’t… Read More
They put the lve on his finger and he started talking. His daughters there going, dad, you know, the power of nature. A dove, a simple ring, neck, dove pulling that out, that, man, that’s powerful. That’s what connectivity is all about. And the more we can do that, the… Read More
And so it costs the zoo money to give away free tickets. But thinking Children’s always wanted to serve every child, every family in the, in the community. I mean, when Lincoln, beautiful Lincoln, Nebraska, 45 to 50% of the children going to school get free and reduced lunch. It’s… Read More
You know, I think I’m really concerned, I’ll be very honest with you about the perception of zoos in, in, in, in, in the masses in the public, because I think the popularity of zoos is on a decline with current pop with the, the perception out there in our… Read More
Now, fortunately, the Lincoln Children’s Zoo has a, has a huge support and endorsement of, of, of its community and its constituents. Okay. And again, it’s because we worked very aggressively to be connected with our community. I served on all kinds of boards of directors, the Humane Society Human… Read More
You still have to have your standards, your animal welfare standards, you know, and your care and your, your professionalism of being a zoo professional and professional and zoological institution. But you have to listen to what your community and what your constituents are and what their concerns are regarding… Read More
What issues caused you the most concern during your zoo career, and how do you see the future regarding those concerns?… Read More
And I think that’s what the expectation is today of our visitors, is high animal welfare. Great engagement for them, you know, great time, safety, time for your family. You know, the Lincoln Children’s Zoo today has family restrooms, rooms for mothers to nurse or, or, or, or, or to… Read More
Visitor attitudes have changed a lot over the years. Absolutely. They have. And they haven’t, you know, people come to a zoo or an aquarium 80% of the time as a family, as a family thing to do together, recreational time together. And a lot of those families want the… Read More
Okay? That was their balanced diet. And so, but that was public behavior too back then. Like I said, throwing marshmallows. I can remember I was a kid 60 years ago, you know, going to the zoo and going to the duck pond and taking along our old cereal Cheerios… Read More
You know, and they wanna, they, and today’s generations, they want experiences. You know, they, they want to discover things, you know, and that’s where historically, what I call most zoos are walking gaw zoos where you walk and you stop and you gawk at the animal for 30 seconds. Read More
So they need to learn how to listen. They need to know how to understand people. They need, how to cooperate with people. They know how to schedule people, how to figure out finances, how to understand the animal world. It’s complex. So that curriculum would probably be at least… Read More
What changes have you seen during your years in the, the zoo field regarding visitor attitudes?… Read More
This year it’s, you know, and, and keep building that. And so you actually get, get a certificate after several years of, of, you know, for curatorial school. And you mentioned obviously a zoo is about the visitors that come. Read More
So in your curator training school, what would you be focusing on?… Read More
Smart question again, mark. I think everything from knowing what animal resources are out there, you know, regarding the most current SSPs and things such as that, and Stu books and all, what the, where those resources are and how to tap them, and people that you would recommend who… Read More
A municipal zoo budget is established by the mayor and the city council, and the zoo director gets their funds, and they may get one thing that says zoo, and then the director breaks it out. Or in the private world, it’s, it’s done completely different. Established by a private… Read More
They’re nothing alike. Okay?… Read More