I was just thinking, wouldn't it be neat if there was a reality TV show where contestants could design exhibits for zoos? If some of us were on that could you imagine the designs that would be created? It would be interesting.
I do know of a production company that is trying to create a show on zoo exhibit renovations (like some HGTV for animals thing). I was skeptical.
That they could ever pull it off. That there were enough exhibits available for their treatment for them to make a series out of it That they had any idea what they were talking about
Do you think anyone would be interested in such a show if it doesn't include showing the actual designed exhibit with animals and all? The average new zoo exhibit can take 2 to 3 years from beginning design meetings to opening day. (Some are done in 18 months and others in ten years, of course) Is there a market for watching a bunch of people standing around a piece of paper gabbing and sketching?
Well you burst my bubble didn't you? Maybe they'd have to have someone compete for the final stage or an easy change to an exhibit. Who knows. Probably why there is no show like that.
In the 1990s, the excellent Giraffe House at Germany’s Magdeburg Zoo was built over a very short period of time (a weekend?) as part of a reality TV show. It is still proving to be a more than satisfactory zoo building, a quarter of a century on, and is a great deal more aesthetically pleasing than most giraffe barns.
That's a most unusual trivia item. There's a photo in the gallery where @Toddy says it was built over 110 hours, and it looks really nice: Magdeburg Zoo - Africambo (Giraffe House) | ZooChat This site says it was 60 hours: Zoos - Magdeburg *
Ooooh, I'd totally watch that! I don't think there'd be enough mainstream appeal for it, but I'd watch it.
