COMPARING THE REACTIONS OF ZOO VISITORS TO IMMERSIVE AND NON-IMMERSIVE EXHIBIT EXPERIENCS

Abstract

There are many people who visit zoos every year - over 183 million according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (2017). These visitors may have different motivations and goals for their visits. However, any zoo they visit will find that the zoo facility and staff have the same main goals: recreation, conservation, and education. Understanding how to effectively promote these areas to visitors is important for a zoo's continued success. One of the biggest attraction of zoos includes their animal exhibits. These exhibits may evoke emotional reactions (affective reactions), inspire learning and education to occur (cognitive reactions), and a sense of connection to the environment from the visitors. These reactions can be used by zoo staff to achieve their goals. However, with the diverse visitor population that zoos often encounter, understanding effective methods to communicate with as many people as possible is essential. Many zoos provide a variety of different exhibit experiences. Some of the exhibits include opportunities for visitors to participate in unique experiences that can enhance their different experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine how different exhibit settings encourage different reactions within adult visitors.