Interpretive Guide 2020 - Cincinnati Zoo

Interpretive Guide

2020

Roo Valley Interpretive Guide 2

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, 2020

Table of Contents

Exhibit Summary ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

Theme & Sub-themes ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

Goal & Objectives ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Species List ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Exhibit Map ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5

Visitor Journey: Interpretive Elements ………………………………………………………..6

Resources ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 20



Exhibit Summary At the Australian-themed Roo Valley, beneath a lush

canopy of trees, Zoo guests will experience and

encounter several native Australian species like never

before. In the 15,000-square-foot Kangaroo Walkabout,

guests will roam among the ‘roos as they hop about,

play, and graze. A two-level, ADA-accessible ropes

course with 50 activities will add even more adventure,

while visitors can relax and view Roo Valley from “Hops”,

a multi-tiered beer garden. Little blue penguins will have

an innovatively designed new home as well where guests

can view them both on land and in the water. Fee-based

behind-the-scenes opportunities will be offered with

the little penguins as well.

As guests roam through the valley, uncovering the

fascinating lives of kangaroos and little penguins,

signage and interactions with staff will afford guests

the opportunity to learn how climate change is

impacting Australia’s wildlife, what the Zoo is doing to

counteract climate change, and what they can do to

reduce their use of water and energy at home.

Big Picture Idea (Theme) Come have an adventure Down Under and uncover the fascinating lives of kangaroos and little penguins.

Supporting Ideas (Sub-themes)

1. Kangaroos and little penguins are fascinating animals from Australia. 2. Climate change is a major threat to Australia’s wildlife; join the Zoo in reducing this

threat by conserving water and energy. 3. We take excellent care of our animals.



Goal To engage guests in a fun and exciting adventure Down Under while learning about kangaroos, little penguins, and how they can help save Australia’s wildlife

Objectives Learning: After visiting Roo Valley, guests will be able to:

1. Recall one thing they learned about Australian wildlife. 2. Describe one thing they can do to conserve water and/or energy. 3. Give an example of something the Zoo does to provide excellent care for kangaroos or

little penguins.

Emotional: After visiting Roo Valley, guests will:

1. Say that they had fun. 2. Recall a special moment they had while visiting the exhibit. 3. Express a greater connection to kangaroos and/or little penguins.

Behavioral: At Roo Valley, guests will:

1. Interact with Zoo staff. 2. Have conversations within their social group related to the exhibit.

After visiting Roo Valley, guests will: 1. Expect to discuss their experience at the exhibit with others at some point in the future.

Species List (subject to change) Red kangaroo

Western gray kangaroo

Little penguin

New Zealand scaup

Australian wood duck

Freckled duck



Exhibit Map

Mai

n e

ntr

y

Acc

essi

ble

entr

y /

exit

Gre

en r

oo

f



Visitor Journey: Interpretive Elements

Entrance

Most visitors will enter Roo Valley off the main

Zoo path just left of the Hops beer garden. An

alternate, ADA-accessible entrance exists across

from the bald eagle habitat; this serves as the

exit for Roo Valley as well.

Kanga Klimb Ropes Course

The first opportunity visitors encounter within the first few feet of the long switchback path

down into the valley is the Kanga Klimb Ropes Course. This two-level, ADA-accessible adventure

ropes course will challenge guests to navigate a series of more than 50 activities such as

crossing rope bridges and stepping across wooden

planks high above the ground. There will be several

course options with differing levels of difficulty. Some

courses will be simple enough for a small child to walk

or allow people with a walker or wheelchair to get a

view from up high. All of the experiences will include

necessary safety equipment from helmets to

harnesses. There is an additional charge to participate

in the ropes course.

Along the entry path

A series of humorous, Australian-themed signs build anticipation as visitors walk down the

entry path into the valley.

Signage text:

G’day, mates! Welcome to the land down under.



Signage text:

Keep an eye on your ankle biters in the bush!

Australia is home to heaps of venomous snakes.

Signage text:

Didgeridoo You Know?

Australia’s first people—the Aboriginal Australians—have lived

on the continent for over 50,000 years. Many of the symbols

associated with Australia—from didgeridoos to dot painting to

boomerangs—originated from them.

Signage text:

What do you call a lazy baby kangaroo?

A pouch potato!



Signage text:

Boomers

Flyers

Joeys

Signage text:

Crikey!

Never step on a roo’s tail.

He’ll go off like a frog in a sock!



Kangaroo Walkabout

Visitors will pass under a trellis to enter

the 15,000-square-foot Kangaroo

Walkabout. Zoo staff will be on hand to

interpret and answer questions as

guests make their way along the path,

observing red and western gray

kangaroos as they hop about, play, and

graze all around them. Expectations for

guest behavior are displayed on a sign

just inside the habitat.

Signage text:

For your safety and the safety of the animals,

please:

● Have an adult with each child. ● Leave food and drink outside. ● Stay on the pathway. ● Have fun!

Signage inside the Walkabout includes an animal identification sign for the kangaroo species

and several interpretive signs on natural history, conservation, and how the Zoo cares for the

kangaroos.



Signage text:

Kangaroos live in social groups called mobs.

Males, called boomers, are twice the size of

females, called flyers. These big-footed

hoppers can cover more than 20 feet in a

single bound and reach speeds up to 30

miles per hour, though they prefer to lay

around during the heat of the day.

Red Kangaroo

Macropus rufus

Length: 4 to 6 ft

Weight: 60 to 200 lbs

Lifespan: 10 to 20 yrs

Habitat: Grassland, bushland, and desert

Diet: Grass and leaves

Range: Australia

Western Gray Kangaroo

Macropus fuliginosus

Length: 2 to 7 ft

Weight: 40 to 160 lbs

Lifespan: 10 to 20 yrs

Habitat: Forest, bushland, and grassland

Diet: Grass, bark and leaves

Range: Southern Australia



Signage text:

Pocket-sized Joey

Like other marsupials, kangaroos

raise their young in a pouch. The

size of a jellybean, a newborn

kangaroo climbs into its mother’s

pouch where it nurses and grows in

snuggly safety until it’s old enough

to start venturing out on its own. At

about a year old, the joey is out of

the pouch for good.

Heaps of Roos

With the removal of most of their

natural predators, kangaroo

populations have grown quite large.

In fact, there are twice as many

kangaroos as people in Australia—

over 45 million. It’s not uncommon

to see kangaroos grazing in

pastures, yards, and golf courses.

Signage text:

Keeping it Comfy and Cozy

Special features of the habitat that help us

to provide excellent care of our kangaroos

include a large open space to explore and

browse feeders that encourage natural

foraging behavior. To keep the kangaroos

comfortable on hot days, the habitat

provides shallow pools, sand piles, fans, and

plenty of shade while heat lamps provide

extra warmth on cooler days.



Signage text:

Save Water, Save Wildlife

Australia’s climate is extremely hot and dry. As it continues to heat up due to excessive burning

of fossil fuels such as coal and gas, it’s getting even drier. This leads to severe drought and

devastating wildfires that impact people and wildlife.

To make energy needed

to heat water and

transport it to our

homes, we burn fossil

fuels such as coal and

gas. This releases carbon

dioxide that builds up in

the atmosphere and acts

like a heat-trapping

blanket. This makes our

global climate hotter

and unstable.

One way people are

doing more to use less

water and energy is by

fixing leaky faucets. At

the Zoo, we have

reduced our water use

by more than 75% since

2003, in part by

upgrading plumbing

infrastructure to

eliminate water waste.

By replacing worn

washers and gaskets to

stop a leaky faucet, you

can save up to 3,000

gallons of water a year.



Signage text:

Reusing Rainwater

Here at the Zoo, one way we save

water and energy is by reusing

rainwater collected in tanks

buried underground—you’re

standing on one now! These

retention tanks hold up to

410,000 gallons of water at a

time, which is then filtered and

used to top off the pools in our

animal habitats.

At home, you can do the same

thing by collecting rain that falls

on your roof in a rain barrel and

using that to water your plants.

You can purchase a rain barrel at

any home improvement store.

Just before leaving the Walkabout, visitors will encounter two signs placed 25 feet apart along

the path, representing the distance a kangaroo can jump at one time. Visitors are challenged to

see how many jumps it takes them to cover the same distance.

Signage text:

Kangaroos can cover 25 feet in a single hop! How

many hops does it take you to go that far? Hop on

down the path to find out.

Signage text:

Good on ya! How many hops did it take you to go the

25 feet a kangaroo can cover in one hop?



Little Penguin Habitat

Visitors enter the little penguin habitat

area, which is enclosed in mesh, from

inside the Kangaroo Walkabout at the

far end. Before they do, there is a sign

next to a small path that leads to where

behind-the-scenes experiences will take

place to advertise the opportunity.

Signage text:

Want to meet our little penguins?

Book your behind-the-scenes experience at

cincinnatizoo.org/behindthescenes or call 475-6198.

Inside the penguin area, visitors will be able to North America’s largest colony of little penguins

as they swim or relax on the beach. Several additional bird species will also call this area home.

Signage and Zoo staff will be on hand to interpret and answer questions. Signage includes

animal identification signs and interpretive signs on conservation and how the Zoo cares for its

penguins.

http://cincinnatizoo.org/plan-your-visit/behind-the-scenes-experience/



Signage text:

Little Penguin

Eudyptula minor

Little penguins are the smallest of all

penguins. Also called blue penguins, they

have blue instead of black feathers on their

backs. Living in a warm climate, little

penguins keep cool by spending the day in

the water and only coming ashore at night.

During nesting season, they hole up in

burrows to avoid the heat.

Height: Up to 1.1 ft

Weight: 2 to 3 lbs

Average Lifespan: 6 to 7 yrs

Habitat: Ocean and coastal shores

Diet: Small fish, such as anchovies and

sardines, and krill

Range: Southern Australia and New

Zealand



Several other water birds will also make

their home in the little penguin habitat.

The sign frame was designed to allow

for up to five species’ identification

signs. These can switch out as needed

when species are added or removed.

Signage text:

New Zealand scaup

Aythya novaeseelandiae

Range: New Zealand

Diet: Snails and other aquatic

invertebrates

Australian wood duck

Chenonetta jubata

Range: Australia

Diet: Grass, herbs and insects

Freckled duck

Stictonetta naevosa

Range: Australia

Diet: Algae, seeds, aquatic plants, and

insects



Signage text:

Save Water, Save Penguins

Though little penguins are not currently endangered, scientists are concerned about decreasing

populations in some areas. As ocean temperatures rise along Australia’s coast, fish move into

cooler waters. Penguins travel further and use more energy to find enough fish to eat, which

makes it harder to survive and successfully raise young. On land, heatwaves can cause penguins

to abandon nests, and severe storms often destroy nesting habitat.

These changes in climate are the result of carbon dioxide build-up in the atmosphere that traps

heat like a blanket around the

Earth. We produce carbon

dioxide when we burn fossil

fuels like coal and gas to make

energy.

It takes energy to treat water so

using less water is one way to

slow down climate change.

At the Zoo, instead of

automatically draining and

refilling the pools in our animal

habitats every day, we save

water and energy by testing the

water quality first and then only

replacing it when necessary.

What’s the biggest source of

water use in an American home?

The toilet! On average, a typical

household flushes down over 30

gallons of water a day. More and

more people are choosing a

WaterSense-certified model

when buying a new toilet, which

uses up to 60% less water than

other models. Look for the

WaterSense label when

shopping.



Signage text:

Just Keep Swimming

Swimming is important to penguin

health. To encourage swimming,

we designed a dynamic pool with

variable depths, things to swim

under and around, and a wave

machine.

We monitor how the penguins use

the habitat, including how often

they swim, through the use of

RFID tags on their wing bands. This

helps us know when a penguin is

showing unusual behavior and

may need attention.

When our penguins choose to

remain on land, a natural beach

with sand and pebbles promotes

foot health, and multiple heating

and cooling features such as fans,

misters, heat lamps, and heated

rocks keep them comfortable.

Green Roof Garden

Upon exiting the Kangaroo Walkabout, visitors then walk along a long path towards the exit. On

the way, they can view the condor and sea eagle eyries on their right. Then they find

themselves walking across a bridge and through a garden that happens to be a green roof on

top of the little penguin holding building. A sign interprets the conservation value of natural

landscaping.



Signage text:

Save Water with Natural Landscapes

When rain falls on a

traditional roof,

pavement or lawn, it

runs off into streams

and sewers, picking up

dirt and pollutants

along the way. A more

naturally planted

landscape slows down

the flow of water,

allowing it to seep in

the ground and be

taken up by plants.

Those plants then

clean the water and

remove carbon

dioxide from the air.

Here at the Zoo, we

grow plants nearly

everywhere—even on

top of some of our

buildings. You’re

standing on the roof

of a building right

now! A green roof

also insulates the

building, reducing the

energy needed for

heating and cooling.

While it’s not practical

for most people to install a green roof at home, anyone with a yard can save water and energy

by adding more natural landscaping. Find the Zoo’s list of recommended plants for our region at

cincinnatizoo.org/plants.



Crossing another bridge, visitors are now on the last section of the exit path that leads them

back out onto the main Zoo path across from the bald eagle habitat. A simple interpretive sign

encourages them to return again soon.

Signage text:

See ya later, mate! Come back and see us again soon.

Resources Australian Museum, https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/

Birdlife Australia, http://www.birdlife.org.au/

Bush Heritage Australia, https://www.bushheritage.org.au/

New Zealand Birds Online, http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/

The Penguin Foundation, https://penguinfoundation.org.au/

https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/animals/

http://www.birdlife.org.au/

https://www.bushheritage.org.au/

http://nzbirdsonline.org.nz/

https://penguinfoundation.org.au/

Interpretive Guide 2020 - Cincinnati Zoo

Documents

Transcript of Interpretive Guide 2020 - Cincinnati Zoo