DAMP FOREST WALKWAY

I wish the pathway was this open when I visited...I unfortunately went on "Field Trip day" and there was hundreds of school children all over the zoo. The LAIR was so full I couldn't even walk around!

Looking at the picture, I can't help wondering just what all the artificial mudbank adds to the experience?
Same with this:http://www.zoochat.com/578/desert-lair-261857/

I don't know if it is psychological, but combined with the natural soundscape and the lighting it really does draw you into the experience of looking for the animals and enjoying them in a way that goes beyond the traditional reptile house.

So it works better in person than it appears to in the photo. Good to know!

I would think that the overall experience is enhanced when the walls a part of the exhibit. Both in this case and the Desert Lair. Would have been even better if the roofs had been included too.

I was wondering the same. It doesn't seem to visually replicate seeing reptiles in the wild, but as David says, the lighting and sound, which cannot be replicated as well in the photo, probably do add to the experience.

Although, expressed in this photo, I think it adds a lot to the tactile experience if you are a child. Kids always seem to scramble along walls and put their hands on all the mock-rock and, although we might think that the mock rock is tacky, the touching experience of clambering along walls and up to the window to see reptiles is a memorable experience if you are a child. I would prefer to stand and just watch the reptiles and enjoy the furnishing of its enclosure, but there are other types of viewers involved.