OK bettors, prognosticators, speculators and debaters: START YOUR ENGINES! The Nominees are: Cheetah Run (Busch Gardens Tampa) Ecosystems, California Science Center (California Science Center) African Elephant Crossing (Cleveland Metroparks Zoo) Monarca del Desierto Jaguar Exhibit ( The Living Desert) Elephants of Asia (Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Garden) Glacier Run (Louisville Zoo) Penguin Point (National Aviary) Megalodon: Diving With North Carolina's Ultimate Predator (North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher) OPERATION: Sea Turtle Rescue (North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island) Turtle Reef (SeaWorld San Diego) Winners will be announced at AZA Awards Banquet during 2012 Annual Conference in Phoenix, Sept 8-13)
I'll have seen 6 out of 10 by mid-August and it would certainly send a message to the lawyers and anti-zoo brigade if L.A.'s Elephants of Asia won the big award. Coincidentally I just wrote about how impressed I was with Operation: Sea Turtle Rescue at North Carolina Aquarium. My guess is either L.A. or Louisville.
Can't send a message if no one is receiving. Those groups dismissed AZA as industry hacks and apologists long ago. I think they would see an award as irrelevant back slapping
I did not like cheetah run at Busch Gardens. The only exhibit on show is the yard they use for demonstrations and the running but if you look behind the main exhibit you can see a chain link exhibit that holds the cheetahs.
You commented on another thread saying you didn't like this exhibit, but the way you said that a running demonstration couldn't be done, I think your views on this exhibit are based on your visit, not on how the exhibit is good is for the animals. However, I would not choose Cheetah Run, as it is not as good as other exhibits here. Although I haven't seen it, I'd probably pick Louisville.
Couldn't agree more--the delayed impact of 2008's economic meltdown coming home to roost in the world of zoos. So many of the also-rans in previous years would be heads and tails above this lot.
Seriously how is Trails of Africa not mentioned? Birmingham took a huge risk with it being the first all bull facility and all. Not to mention the praise it has gotten on the board and by elephant experts. Not saying it should win its just weird not to see it or Giants given even honorable mention. Especially with several saying this is a weak year.
Dallas's Giants of the Savanna won a Significant Achievement Award last year. (imo it should have won top honors) The candidates for this year's awards--as always--are self-nominated. Apparently Birmingham did not apply, or perhaps they are waiting until next year when there are more results to include as part of a submission. Of this group, from what I've seen, Glacier Run should get strong consideration, but that really is only relative to the "competition."
I cant believe Penguin Point is on the list. Im doing a mini trip next weekend to Indianapolis zoo thks to snowleopard and Louisville zoo thks to team tapir for recommending it.I just cant wait to see glacier run and Quannik the baby 1 year old polar bear.But all and all its gunna be a close one between porbably Louisville zoo's glacier run and LA zoo Elephant exhibit.
Did the exhibits have to open in 2011? I am curious why Denver's Elephant Passage did not make the list.
Reduakari is absolutely right, it is up to the zoo to put in thier nomination. Many zoos choose not to participate for one reason or another but I do know it is a huge undertaking to put together a quality submittal. I know some people that would say the award submittal itself counts for much more than the actual exhibit as it is not a requirement for the judges to have seen the exhibits they are judging.
I have seen two of these exhibits, I would certainly choose Busch Gardens Tampa's Cheetah Run over National Aviary's Penguin Point! Here are pictures of each that I took, Penguin Point in early May and Cheetah Run in early November of last year: Penguin Point, main outdoor viewing area: Penguin Point, main indoor viewing area and crawl tunnel: Penguin Point, detail of indoor underwater viewing window: Cheetah Run, view from long outdoor viewing area: Cheetah Run, waterfall area of exhibit: Cheetah Run, view of exhibit from viewing shelter at one end of the long enclosure:
I don't think so... but the committee that judges it only has the published submittable to go by. No one funds them to go around the continent making inspections. See Response #12 from Drew (above). Zoos rarely submit the same year an exhibit opens. On the one hand the submittal requires so much work from some of the same people who worked so hard to open the exhibit. And on the other hand, the pictures of the site usually look better a year or more later
Not exactly, the judges are usually adept enough to choose what they feel is a high quality exhibit but you can understand how important the making of the submittal is as you can make a good exhibit seem great if the judges looking at the submittals have never seen it in person and are therefore required to make judgements based on pictures/site plans, ect. Likewise if a great exhibit just throws a low-quality submittal together it would be really difficult to do well in the competition. I think most of us can agree you can only tell so much about an exhibit without actually seeing it in person. That being said I don't think it is the responsibility of the AZA to throw around money for the judges to travel to each exhibit. I think the awards, though somewhat flawed, are still worthwhile and meaningful and the winners are all usually very high quality exhibits.
Yes, Drew, and truth be told, we designers also enjoy them (especially when one of our projects is recognized! )
Why not just pay the Snowleopard family a yearly rate to inspect all of the nominees? We are usually trucking across the nation in the summer visiting a heck of a lot of zoos anyway...
AZA Exhibit Awards 2012 announced OK, hot from the AZA conference, awards announced just 20 minutes ago: Significant Achievement: Ecosystems, California Science Center (California Science Center) African Elephant Crossing (Cleveland Metroparks Zoo) Elephants of Asia (Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Garden) Top Award: Glacier Run, Louisville Zoo And on a related note, it was stated that at least 1 member of the awards committee is dispatched to visit each nominated exhibit. I don't know when this practice began, but the committee did recognize that award submissions alone are not the way to judge and on yet another note: Bean Award: Saint Louis Zoo for Ozark Hellbender
