Elephant/Rhino Immersion Walkway & Educational Components

A key element of the new Elephant and Rhino Exhibit project is the establishment of engaging, interactive educational experiences for the Zoo visitors, including more than 140,000 children who come to the Zoo annually with their teachers, in school groups. Throughout the Exhibit, interpretive components will educate, entertain and keep the attention of visitors by using interactive elements and displays that will appeal to children as well as adults. An eco-camp and researcher's station will include props such as field notebooks kept by tourists, maps of ecotourism sights in Africa and will set the mood for the Exhibit. The goal of the Exhibit's educational and interpretive elements is to provoke visitors' awareness of factors important for African plains' conservation and to stimulate visitors to think about their own impact on the environment.

A walkway will thrust visitors in among the animals -- elephants on one side, rhinos and antelope on the other -- to stare into the eyes of creatures who stand 12 feet high at the shoulders and measure their weights in tons. The experience will be breathtaking. This walkway, its interpretive exhibit areas, as well as interpretives located along the pathway and at the overlooks, will provide the interested Zoo visitor with a way to explore the complex issues affecting the conservation status of wild and captive African elephants.

Contact the Development Office at 336-879-7250 for more information on how to become a sponsor.

Last modified 07/20/2004 11:10pm.