Naturalistic Exhibits May be More Effective Than Traditional Exhibits at Improving Zoo-Visitor Attitudes toward African Apes

Abstract

Zoos play a unique role in wildlife conservation, particularly in the area of conservation education. Because of their popularity and flagship status for broader conservation issues, great apes may prove to be one of the most important educational conduits in zoos. In 2002, we surveyed knowledge of and attitudes toward African apes in visitors to the Lester E. Fisher Great Ape House (GAH) at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, IL, USA. In the current study, we replicated the survey to document attitudes to and knowledge of the newly renovated and naturalistic Regenstein Center for African Apes (RCAA) and compared results. We found RCAA was no more effective than GAH in increasing visitor knowledge about apes, although visitors answered more questions correctly upon exit than on entrance in both buildings. We did find, however, that RCAA was more effective than GAH at improving visitor attitudes toward chimpanzees. Specifically, upon exiting, RCAA visitors showed increased naturalistic attitudes and reduced utilitarian attitudes toward chimpanzees. Exhibiting apes in naturalistic settings may therefore be an effective way to increase visitor concern for apes in nature and in zoos. Zoos and aquariums investing in new, naturalistic ape exhibits with the aim to educate about, provide emotional connections to, improve attitudes toward, and ultimately increase conservation of apes, need to then critically evaluate whether the actual effect of the designed environment on visitors-above and beyond intended benefits for the animals-is commensurate with the investment. The broader impacts of even small shifts in visitor attitude in the right direction could be significant. These findings may vary across species and settings, however, and should be assessed accordingly.

Can an Immersion Exhibit Inspire Connection to Nature and Environmentally Responsible Behavior?

“…However, if the direct experience offered by this immersion exhibit led to an increase in connectedness to nature, it follows that immersion exhibits and experiences may also lead to an increase in positive attitudes and positive emotions. Lukas and Ross (2014) did find that naturalistic zoo exhibits were more likely to lead to attitude change than traditional zoo exhibits. Likewise, the study also used a purposive sample of visitors that self-selected to see the exhibit.…”

Using video and theater to increase knowledge and change attitudes—Why are gorillas important to the world and to Congo?

“…The questionnaire was developed using many of the same questions and statements to evaluate knowledge of and attitudes toward African apes of visitors to a former and renovated ape exhibit at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, IL (Lukas & Ross, , ). Each survey took approximately 10 min to complete.…”

“…Our closest relatives, the great apes, are one of the most popular animals in zoos and education programs are commonly based on these mega‐charismatic animals (Stoinski, Ogden, Gold, & Maple, ). For example, evaluation surveys have demonstrated that watching great apes at exhibits and providing relevant information about their natural history and conservation helps to increase knowledge among exhibit visitors and strongly suggest improved pro‐great ape attitudes (Lukas & Ross, , ). The degree to which knowledge increase happens depends on education levels and age, whereas better attitudes toward great apes were prevalent among younger people (ibid).…”

“…Our primary aim was to investigate whether education programs developed for an audience in Western zoos (Cincinnati and Cleveland) can successfully increase knowledge and improve attitudes of an audience in a gorilla range country. We applied similar pre‐post questions as a previous study in the zoo (Lukas & Ross, , ) to examine which factors are associated with knowledge increase and attitude change and how change compares between the two settings. The questions included both gorilla knowledge questions as well as pro‐gorilla attitude statements (Table ).…”

Conservation education in zoos: A literature review

“…Studied variables include naturalness and interactiveness of the exhibits (e.g. Swanagan 2000; Ballantyne et al 2007, 372;Ross et al 2012;Lukas & Ross 2014), animal activity and eye contact with the animals (Powell & Bullock 2014), animal charisma (Smith & Sutton 2008), interpretation of conservation (by guides) (Jacobs & Harms 2014) or duration of stay (Smith & Broad 2008). The post-visit material has also proved important (e.g.…”