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Exhibit Designing Competition

Discussion in 'General Zoo Discussion' started by Indlovu, 6 Jul 2010.

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  1. Fossa dude

    Fossa dude Well-Known Member

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    Continents of the World

    @fkalltheway- Yes, you do have to have all the species types in each exhibit. And for Antarctica you can put more than one species of a particular group in the exhibit. Sorry if I made myself unclear.
     
  2. Swedish Zoo Fan

    Swedish Zoo Fan Well-Known Member

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    It might sound as I'm retarded, but I don't get it... :p
     
  3. Fossa dude

    Fossa dude Well-Known Member

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    Continents of the World

    @Swedish Zoo Fan-

    Sorry, just do your best.
     
  4. fkalltheway

    fkalltheway Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    I guess I'll go first. Hopefully this follows all the rules.

    My Children's Zoo building contains around 640 individual animals of 39 species.

    I drew a layout of what I envision the area looking like, hopefully you can follow my description well enough. I drew it before I went back and added fish to every exhibit so it doesn't really show where the water features are.

    Entering the Children’s Zoo building you are immediately immersed in a South American tropical rainforest. Lighting appears dappled just like the floor of an actual rainforest. Immediately ahead of you is a tall glass-fronted exhibit containing a family group Golden Lion Tamarins (1.1+offspring). Grey-winged Trumpeters (1.2) scratch through the leaf litter picking up fallen fruits while a large male Green Iguana (1.0) basks on a branch high above them. Some Amazon Milk Frogs (2.2) move about the exhibit trying to catch any juvenile Brazilian Giant Cockroaches (0.0.300+offspring) which leave their hollow tree home located in the front right corner of the exhibit. Guests are invited to step inside this hollow tree to get a better look at the roaches if they wish, as only a portion of the tree is actually inside the exhibit. A trickle of a stream travels through the exhibit, ending in a small pool near the front left corner of the exhibit, containing Guppies (0.0.30). Along the wall opposite the exhibit children are encouraged to explore a mock rainforest and even climb onto a shaky bridge like one that might be seen high in a rainforest canopy. Large colorful graphics throughout the space discuss the use of different levels of the rainforest by different animal species.

    Leaving this forest you pass through a set of doors and enter a different type of forest, this one much brighter and noisier. Resembling a forest clearing in Australia you are surrounded by tall trees on all sides. Skylights allow lots of natural light to enter the room, and large window panels can be opened to allow fresh air to enter the room. Chattering Rainbow Lorikeets (10.10) and beautiful Bird-wing Butterflies (0.0.25) fly across the room, sometimes even landing on fence posts. For a small fee guests can purchase nectar to feed the birds here. On the ground you see movement and notice the Red-legged Pademelon (0.2) which also call this clearing home. The post-and-rope fencing allows the pademelon to cross the visitor pathway. Visitors are encouraged to look for free-ranging Frill-necked Lizards (1.2) and White’s Tree Frogs (0.0.6) which are sometimes tough to spot. A small water feature with a glass front houses Boeseman’s Rainbowfish (0.0.20), adding even more color to the forest.

    Passing through another set of doors you enter a shaded grove that almost looks like a suburban backyard. Like when you first entered the building immediately ahead is a glass-fronted exhibit which contains typical backyard species. The animals here might look somewhat familiar to you but different – these species are ones typically found in European backyards. Red Squirrels (1.1), a Eurasian Jay (1.0), European Pond Terrapins (1.1), Common Toads (1.2), and Garden Snails (0.0.6) all coexist in deciduous forest edge environment. A small pond in the exhibit contains Common Minnows (0.0.20). Larger-than-life turtle and snail shells allow children to become the animals they see in the exhibit; a giant overturned clay pot lets children enter their very own toad abode. Bright, kid-friendly graphics on the walls compare the species on exhibit to those found in American backyards as well as instruct children on how they can make their backyard more animal friendly.

    Leaving the European forest through a set of doors you are transported onto the shortgrass prairie of North America. Although still inside murals help give the impression that the prairie extends for miles. Directly to your left is a small marshy pond containing Bigmouth Shiners (0.0.25). Great Plains Toads (2.2) hop through the shallows here. The major focus of this area however is a rambunctious group of Black-tailed Prairie Dogs (5.5+offspring) and a trio of Burrowing Owls (1.2). Sagebrush Lizards (4.4) occasionally sun themselves on the low wall that separates the prairie dogs from the visitors, so watch where you put your hands. And don’t worry if you see a beetle, those are supposed to be there! A colony of Common Burying Beetles (0.0.40) inhabits the exhibit, serving as a practical example of more endangered species of burying beetle that once inhabited the prairie. Passing through a rubber strip curtain you find yourself underground. In fact you are now walking underneath the main hillside in the prairie dog habitat you just viewed. Acrylic cylinders allow children and adults alike to literally pop-up in the middle of this prairie habitat. Panels in the wall allow you to observe species in the exhibit when they enter underground burrows.

    Passing through a set of doors you find yourself in a dark hallway and feel a slight chill on your skin. You continue walking and find yourself surrounded by snow, icy blue water, and a boisterous colony of penguins! Large windows line both sides of the hallway, giving you excellent views into this frigid world. Gentoo Penguins (6.6) and Chinstrap Penguins (4.4) are constantly squabbling over nesting materials and birds are always swimming around their deep pool. The pool here is large enough to allow the penguins to exhibit a natural behavior known as porpoising. You walk a little bit further and notice acrylic panels in the floor and realize that the penguins can travel beneath your feet to reach the other side of the exhibit. A lone South Polar Skua (0.0.1) also calls this icy land home.

    As you continue down the hallway things start to get brighter and a lot hotter. The first things you notice are sandy rockwork and what appear to be giant baskets hanging from the ceiling to your left. You walk closer to get a better look and notice something move quickly to your right. You turn and see a bustling group of Southern Masked Weavers (3.3) are busy constructing their nests in this African desert scrubland. You look back and realize that the large hanging baskets are just larger versions of these weaver bird nests, large enough for children to enter! On the ground you see an African Crested Porcupine (1.0) resting behind a log. If you look closely you might see Mali Uromastyx (2.3), Dwarf African Bullfrogs (1.1), and Deathstalker Scorpions (0.0.4) which also live in this exhibit. Walking further along you see what looks like the entrance to a burrow. Children can climb inside this burrow and get a better view of the desert inhabitants. When inside this burrow children might be surprised to find stunning blue Zebra Cichlids (0.0.15) in a pool best viewed from inside this burrow. Bright graphics here discuss how each of the animals in the exhibit defends itself from predators.

    As you open the last set of doors you find yourself transported into a much different environment than the one you just left. You find yourself in an enormous Asian jungle with tall trees and lush vegetation on either side of you. Water abounds here, you can see a river directly ahead of you, and in the distance a waterfall crashes down. Before you can approach the river a huge bird flies across the pathway, shifting your focus to the right. You look up and see a Great Hornbill (1.0) plucking fruit from a tree. On your left you see what appears to be a large mass of leaves. Looking closely you see that these aren’t leaves at all but a group of Giant Leaf Insects (0.0.20). On the ground in this area is another leaf imposter, the Malayan Horned Frog (0.0.8). These frogs can be hard to spot so look closely. You walk down towards the river and find yourself looking at several huge fish, Giant Gouramis (0.0.10). Even more impressive are the Gharial (1.1) which lie motionless in the shallows. A sandy beach lines this river, perfect for the gharial to haul out on. Beyond the beach is a steep riverbank with a lush jungle above. You notice something moving in the trees, but it isn’t the hornbill. A pair of White-cheeked Gibbons (1.1) swings through the trees here so quickly that you can barely keep up. They swing across the visitor path, using ropes disguised as vines suspended from the ceiling, and stop to rest on a large play structure hidden from view before by the lush vegetation.
     

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  5. Swedish Zoo Fan

    Swedish Zoo Fan Well-Known Member

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    Here's my entry, tried my best, hope you like it. I don't have a map, like the last one had, but I hope it's ok . :)

    So when you entering the children’s Zoo, the first thing you see is the African desert exhibit. Here it’s warm and the exhibit has been designed to look like a desert, with rocks, different desert plants etc. The Aardvarks live in their exhibit, and you can also look into their indoor area, and the kids can also go under the ground to see the aardvarks from there. In a smaller lake live Egyptian Plovers and Zebra Cichlids. In a little desert exhibit lives a group of Leopard Tortoises. Free-ranging animals in this exhibit are also African Bullfrogs and Emperor Scorpions, though, the scorpions have their own exhibit, since their too dangerous to be free-ranging. In this exhibit there’s also a small information centre for kids, where they can learn about African animals in an interesting way.

    The next part is the European forest. Here lives only species that are very native to us and the exhibit is like a recreation of a forest in the warmer areas of Europe. In the trees here live Common Kingfisher, European Hedgehog, Grass Snakes, European Green Toads and Garden Snails. In a small lake in bottom of the forest lives European Perchs. There’s also information about the difference between the forests in America and Europe, so the children can learn about how it is in the both forest types.

    Next part is the Asian rainforest. This part is the biggest of the parts. You come into the rainforest through glass doors, and when you come into the forest, you hear the noises from the forest, and you can directly see the Palawan Hornbills, who lives in the trees. At the bottom of the rainforest there’s a lake running through the whole exhibit. Along the lake is the exhibit for Asian small-clawed Otters, who can be seen from above and under water through big glass windows. In the lake there’s also a group of Asian Arowanas. Along the paths in the rainforest there’s also a small exhibit for Giant Leaf Insects. Free-ranging in the rainforest are also Flying Frogs, although you have to look really closely if you want to find them. Last, in this exhibit also live Saltwater Crocodiles, who have a big and lush exhibit, where they have lots of space to swim. They can also be seen under water. Before you exit the exhibit, you can also learn about the Asian rainforest, and about its inhabitants.

    After the rainforest you continue through new glass doors, and then you realize that you have come to the Antarctica part. This part contains two big glassed enclosures. The first exhibit is for various penguin species. Here lives King Penguins, Gentoo Penguins, Adelie Penguins and Chinstrap Penguins. They have lots of space to swim and behind the exhibit it looks like midnight sun, to make it more naturally. In the other exhibit lives Rockhopper Penguins and Antarctic Giant Petrels.

    The next exhibit is the Australian forest. Here it’s warm and very lush and green. It’s also very noisy, mostly because of the big group of Rainbow Lorikeets who are free-ranging in the forest. In a separate exhibit lives a small group of Matschie’s Tree-kangaroos. The visitors view the kangaroos through glass windows. On the ground lives a group of Bearded Dragons and the Australian Tree Frogs are living free in the rainforest, though they are very hard to see. Also free in the forest are Bright Copper Butterflies. A big group of these are living in the forest, so they are not so hard to see. The last exhibit is the aquarium for Queensland Lungfish. The children can also here learn about the animals in a very interesting way for them.

    The next part is the North American forest. This exhibit is much like the European forest, only that there are only animals from North America here. The biggest exhibit is the one for North American porcupines, who have plenty of trees to climb in their exhibit. The Burrowing Owls have their aviary inspired by the prairie landscape with cactuses and short grass. The terrarium for Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes is also located here. Also an exhibit for Honey Bees is located in the American forest. The children can see the bees in their beehive, where they can come close to the bees. There’s also an aquarium for Atlantic Salmons here. The American Toads are free ranging in the forest, but are not dangerous for the visitors.

    After the American forest, you pass through some glass doors, and you suddenly come into the last part, which is the South American rainforest. This is a very large exhibit with many animals. You see the Golden-headed Lion Tamarins, who are free ranging in the rainforest. They also have an off-show exhibit, where the visitors can not see them. Toco Toucans are flying around in the forest, and can be very hard to see. In the trees you can also try to see the pair of Green Iguanas, who live high up in the trees. A small aquarium, looking like the Amazon, contains a group of Red-bellied Piranhas. The visitors can follow the Leaf-cutter ants in their colony, and their colony have their house along a path, so the visitors can follow them and see what they are doing. Right in the middle of the forest, is the terrarium for Blue Poison Dart frogs.
     
  6. Fossa dude

    Fossa dude Well-Known Member

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    @fkalltheway
    @Swedish Zoo Fan

    Your zoos are very well thought out and no mistakes.
     
  7. Indlovu

    Indlovu Well-Known Member 10+ year member

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    Isn't it time up now?
     
  8. Fossa dude

    Fossa dude Well-Known Member

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    No, it will be over 3:00 p.m. MTZ.
     
  9. Fossa dude

    Fossa dude Well-Known Member

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    I will decide the winner by 3:30 because of an appt. to be at.
     
  10. Kwambeze

    Kwambeze Well-Known Member

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    When is the time up? (I am not so very good at other time zoones)
     
  11. Fossa dude

    Fossa dude Well-Known Member

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    Thank you both for doing this contest and making my first experience on Zoo Chat pleasurable. Both of the zoos were amazing with so much thought put into each one. The one that I liked best and the one that won is- fkalltheway. I did like the drawing and ever- thing was thought out perfectly. I liked the South American Rainforest best. Especially the cockroaches.
     
  12. fkalltheway

    fkalltheway Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Cool, thanks Fossa Dude, I enjoyed designing that exhibit.

    For my challenge you must design an area of a zoo based around an island or group of islands. The islands must be in roughly the same geographic region, for example you cannot choose Australia and the Galapagos. Species must occur on these islands in order to be exhibited, however they do not have to be endemic.

    --There is no limit on the number of species exhibited or the size of exhibits.
    --Minimum of 6 mammal species, 12 bird species, and 4 reptiles/amphibian species.
    --Invertebrate and fish species can also be included.
    --1 mammal species, 2 bird species, and 1 reptile/amphibian species must be endangered.
    --Minimum of 3 mixed species exhibits, one with at least 3 different species
    --The mixed species exhibit of 3 or more species can contain no birds.
    --Must include a minimum of 2 semi-aquatic/fully aquatic species
    --Due to county restrictions there must be no exhibits which place animals in the same physical space as visitors (ie. no exhibits where animals can cross the visitor pathway)
    --Must use species which can be maintained in captivity

    Deadline: Saturday, July 17th at 5 PM EST.

    Good luck on this challenge guys, I look forward to reading through all your designs.
     
  13. siamang27

    siamang27 Well-Known Member

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    Does this mean there cannot be a walk-through aviary?
    Also, I made a Madagascar exhibit a while ago in another thread, but I think it meets all the requirements...can I use that? I would guess not since I already posted it elsewhere but you never know...
     
  14. fkalltheway

    fkalltheway Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    Correct, no walk-through aviaries allowed.

    Up to you if you want to use the one you already made, I don't think I already read it though I might have. You could tweak it a little to satisfy your desire to design another exhibit but again that's entirely up to you.
     
  15. siamang27

    siamang27 Well-Known Member

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    Alright, this was taken from my Madagascar exhibit, however I have edited some things around (mainly removing the walk-through aviary), but other things as well.

    This is actually focused on the islands around Madagascar as well, but most of the animals here are native to Madagascar so that's what I'm basing it on.

    The first exhibit that you see is an island exhibit for lemurs. There is a very large heavily-planted island on a small lake. It houses Ring-tailed Lemur, Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur, and Brown Lemur. There are also 3 off-exhibit enclosures to separate the species if necessary.

    Next is a small building. This building has 3 sections. The first is for reptiles, amphibians and insects from Madagascar. It includes Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, Golden Mantella, Tomato Frog, Madagascar Leaf-tailed Gecko, Madagascar Giant Day Gecko, Madagascar Tree Boa, and Dumeril's Ground Boa.

    The next section is a cave. It contains 3 exhibits. The first 2 are for groups of Livingstone's Fruit Bat and Rodriguez Fruit Bat. The 3rd, further into the cave, is a large pool for Nile Crocodile with underwater viewing.

    The last inside area is for Malagasy nocturnal animals. It includes Gray Mouse Lemur, Aye-aye, Tailless Tenrec, Lesser Dwarf Lemur, and Red-bellied Lemur. Each is in their own exhibit.

    Outdoors again, the first exhibit visitors see is a paddock for Aldabra Tortoise, then more lemur exhibits. The lemur exhibits are designed as different habitats for the species that live in them. The first enclosure is a rainforest exhibit for Black Lemur and Red Ruffed Lemur. The 2nd is spiny forest and houses Red-fronted Lemur and Verreaux's Sifaka. The third is a lakeside exhibit, with reedbeds and a small lake etc for Alaotran Bamboo Lemur.

    Nearby is a large exhibit for Fossa, and 2 slightly smaller ones for Ring-tailed Mongoose and Fanaloka.

    Next are aviaries for various birds from Madagascar. There are several of these. The first 4 aviaries house single species: Vasa Parrot, Long-tailed Ground-roller, Madagascar Coucal and Cuckoo-roller. The Cuckoo-roller aviary also has Radiated Tortoise inside. Next are a couple more larger aviaries, and these are the mixed ones. There are 3 of these. The first has Madagascar Partridge, Pink Pigeon, Blue Coua, Madagascar Shama, Madagascar White-eye and Red Fody. The 2nd one has Gray-headed Lovebird, Broad-billed Roller, Crested Drongo, Black Bulbul and Madagascar Paradise-flycatcher. The last one has Madagascar Buttonquail, Namaqua Dove, Madagascar Bee-eater, Sakalava Weaver and Madagascar Munia.

    The last exhibit you pass is a wetlands exhibit for Crested Ibis, White-faced Whistling-duck, Madagascar Teal and Meller's Duck.
     
  16. Paix

    Paix Well-Known Member

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    I shall do mine tonight! Im looking forward to this one!
     
  17. Swedish Zoo Fan

    Swedish Zoo Fan Well-Known Member

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    I don't understand what you mean:

    --Must include a minimum of 2 semi-aquatic/fully aquatic species

    Can you please explain that for me? :)
     
  18. Paix

    Paix Well-Known Member

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    From my understanding, this means that two of the species in your exhibit must be in water/partially in water. Im quite sure this could include Water Birds aswell as Amphibians, Fish etc.
     
  19. redpanda

    redpanda Well-Known Member

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    This sounds like an interesting challenge, just one thing I don't understand.

    What do you mean by this?
     
  20. Swedish Zoo Fan

    Swedish Zoo Fan Well-Known Member

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    Here's my entry, took me a long while to write, so hope you like it. :)
    The theme of my exhibit is animals from the island Borneo.

    So, this area is called ‘’Borneo’’ and its purpose is to show the wildlife on the island Borneo. The first exhibit is the two big aviaries for different birds. In the first aviary lives Bornean Peacock-pheasant, Bare-headed Laughingthrush, Bornean Whistler, Whitehead’s Trogon, Blue-headed Pitta and Red-Breasted partridge. In the second aviary lives Wrinkled Hornbill, Black-capped White-eye, Red-throated Barbet, Dark-throated Oriole, Bulwer’s Pheasant and Bornean Ground-cuckoo. The visitors can see the birds through glass windows in a Bornean hut, where there’s also information about Bornean wildlife.

    The next exhibit is the Orang-utan forest. This exhibit is the home of a group of Bornean Orang-utans, and they share their exhibit with a pair of Bornean Gibbons. Both can be seen indoor and in their huge outdoor exhibit, with lots of high trees, big rocks and a river that flows through their big rainforest exhibits. In their indoor exhibit also lives Bornean River Turtles in a smaller rainforest exhibit, and in small netted exhibit also lives Bornean Treeshrews.

    The next exhibit is the Jungle Cave, a night zoo, with only species from Borneo. In here lives free-flying Large Flying Fox, and other animals that are living here are Slow Loris, Western Tarsiers, Giant Squirrels, Sunda Pangolins and Banded Palm Civets. The loris and the tarsiers share exhibit, and all the species in the cave are very, very unique!

    Next up is the netted exhibits for Yellow-throated Martens and Clouded Leopards. They have their exhibits right next to each other, and you can walk under them in a tunnel, where you can see the animals through glass windows in the tunnel. Of course, you can also see them through glass from above as well.

    Next exhibit is the Bornean forest exhibit. Here lives different species from the forest. On the ground lives Bornean Bearded pigs, Lesser Mouse-deer, Sambar deer and Red Muntjacs. In a small lake lives the Oriental Small-clawed Otters, and in the trees lives the Proboscis Monkeys. The exhibit is very unique and the visitors see it in two floors. In the house next to the exhibit can you look out on the exhibit, and you can also look out on the monkeys in the upper floor, where you can also see into their indoor exhibit. There’s also a terrarium for Bornean Pitvipers in this house.

    The next exhibit is the False Gharial exhibit. A river flows through the exhibit, and the gharials can be seen from above and under water through glass windows. The exhibit is shaped like a small river bank in the rainforest. There’s also an information centre next to the exhibit, where you can read about the gharials, and how they live in the nature. There’s also a terrarium for Water Monitors here, and their exhibit is shaped in the same way as the gharial exhibit. Also, there’s an exhibit for Malaysian Orchid Mantis here.

    List of animals

    Mammals – 17 species
    Bornean Orang-utan
    Bornean Gibbon
    Bornean Treeshrew
    Large Flying Fox
    Slow Loris
    Western Tarsier
    Giant Squirrel
    Sunda Pangolin
    Banded Palm Civet
    Yellow-throated Marten
    Clouded Leopard
    Bornean Bearded Pig
    Lesser Mouse-Deer
    Sambar Deer
    Red Muntjac
    Oriental Small-clawed Otter
    Proboscis Monkey


    Birds – 12 species
    Bornean Peacock-pheasant
    Bare-headed Laughingthrush
    Bornean Whistler
    Whitehead’s Trogon
    Blue-headed Pitta
    Red-breasted Partridge
    Wrinkled Hornbill
    Black-capped White-eye
    Red-throated Barbet
    Dark-throated Oriole
    Bulwer’s Pheasant
    Bornean Ground-cuckoo


    Reptiles – 4 species
    Bornean River Turtle
    Bornean Pitviper
    False Gharial
    Water Monitor


    Invertebrate – 1 species
    Malaysian Orchid Mantis

    Mixed exhibits – 3 exhibits
    Orang-utan + Gibbon
    Slow loris + Tarsier
    Bearded pig + Deer + Otter + Proboscis Monkey
     
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