EDUCATION IN A ZOOLOGICAL PARK OR AQUARIUM - AN ONTOGENY OF LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Zoo and aquarium herpetologists can provide an ontogeny of learning op portunities to reach a broader audience from the general visitor to gr aduate students. An example of a program for the general visitor is th e Reptile Discovery Center at the National Zoological Park. In this pr oject, three reptile houses were changed into learning centers that al lowed people to pace their learning, make choices, manipulate objects, and talk with interpreters. Zoo programs for secondary students are r are, but some zoos have explorer scout training posts or conservation clubs for this audience. There are programs in toes for the training o f zoo herpetologists. The Santa Fc Community College in Gainesville, F lorida offers such a training course. Tire National Zoological Park an d other toes provide undergraduate and graduate student grants to do r esearch with animals in a zoo setting. A few zoos even offer postdocto ral research fellowships to work with zoo animals. In spite of the abo ve programs, there is no real formal liaison between a zoological gard en or aquarium and an academic institution. A liaison is described in which a university and a zoo could cooperate in a graduate program in conservation biology. The university could provide the students and th e formal course work while the zoo could provide office space and anim als. Although the ontogeny of learning opportunities is great in toes and aquariums, most institutions have not taken the opportunity to rea ch a broader audience with herpetology.