Education Centre /
Children’s Facilities
Education Centre/Children's Facilities
While noted zoo designer David Hancocks admonishes the entire zoo should intentionally become a children’s learning centre, special children’s facilities remain exceedingly popular. Generally these fall into three categories, 1) Indoor discovery centres, some with adjacent garden areas, such as Nature’s Neighborhood at Toledo Zoo and Hamill Family Play Zoo at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, 2) Outdoor nature play areas with naturalistic streams, sand pits and climbing logs such as at Healesville Sanctuary near Melbourne Australia and botanical displays such as the Children’s Adventure Garden at the New York Botanical Garden* and Seneca Park Zoo’s Children’s Discovery Center* and 3) “Petting zoos” or “animal contact areas” with domestic animals like those at the Los Angeles Zoo* and Adelaide Zoo* in Australia. (*indicates projects Jon collaborated in).
How can exhibits Inspire Positive Change?
“To inspire, we should arouse the emotions of our visitors by providing Memorable Experiences”. Liam Smith
3 Steps to Learning:
Feelings (affective): Emotional learning comes first!
Knowing (cognitive)
Doing (behavioural)
What’s the message?
Feeling + Knowing + Doing = Message
Connect + Understand + Act (Zoos Victoria educational method)
Deep emotion + Deep thinking = Attitude Change + Action. (Petty and Cacioppo)
Papers on Education Centres and Children's Facilities
Coe, Jon. C., 1982. “Bringing It All Together: Integration of Context, Content and Message In Zoo Exhibit Design” in AAZPA 1982 Annual Conference Proceedings, American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, Wheeling, WV, pp. 268- 274. Abstract
Coe, Jon C., 1987. “What’s The Message? Exhibit Design for Education” in AAZPA 1987 Regional Conference Proceedings, American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, Wheeling, WV, pp. 19-23. Abstract
Coe, Jon C., 1988. “How Should We Manage The New Exhibit Technology? ‘Soft’ Technology” in AAZPA 1988 Annual Conference Proceedings, American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, Wheeling, WV, pp. 51-58.
Ethics/Welfare/Enrichment Rotation Projects
- Discovery Enter, Seneca Park Zoo, Rochester, New York, 2991, CLR
- Childrens Zoo Renovaton, Los Angles Zoo, Los Angles, California, 1997, CLR
Children's Adventure Garden
The Children’s Adventure Garden at the New York Botanical Garden exemplifies a new trend in botanical learning environments. Organized around the Garden’s carefully planned curriculum and lab areas, the garden is filled with colorful interactive features, such as “Be a Bee” pollinating a giant flower, and giant topiary insects. Natural areas include a boulder maze and marsh floating discovery platform. This discovery garden has proven to be overwhelmingly attractive to the urban children of New York.
Giant insects and interactive displays in the garden and at the marsh overlook bring the detailed curriculum to life.
- Children’s Adventure Garden Concept, New York Botanical Garden, New York, 1998, CLR
Perth Zoo Homestead Tree House Concept
Perth Zoo’s Homestead Children’s area is well used for education programs and evening events but needed an update. Zoo leaders wanted to develop an encounter area for smaller domestic farm animals but did not want to damage areas around existing trees. The sloping site is surrounded by massive Morton Bay fig trees, providing Jon with the inspiration to increase the accessible area vertically for both children and their families and for vertically inclined goats and sheep by developing an overhead system of shared ramps and platforms through tree canopies.
- Children’s Farm Advisor, Adelaide Zoo, Adelaide, South Australia, 2018, JCD
- Homestead Treehouse Concept, Perth Zoo, Perth, Western Australia, 2019, JCD
Notes: 1973–1983: Work accomplished while Senior Associate or Partner at Jones & Jones, Seattle, WA, USA, noted as J&J. 1984–2003: Work accomplished as a Founding Partner of Coe & Lee which evolved into CLRdesign, inc. Philadelphia, PA, USA, noted as CLR.