What, Why, Where, and How

Welcome to this blog! I am constructing a long-term project to visit and review as many zoos and aquariums as I can.

I got the idea when I found myself looking for quality reviews of zoos and aquariums, thinking about possible future vacation trips. What I found was a mess of sites that would sort of talk about a few places, lists of people's personal favorites, and lists of the most popular. What I wanted to know was which were the most educational. Not one of the sites I found talked about the zoo's conservation efforts or educational exhibit structures. They were all about entertainment.

So I am going to attempt to create a comprehensive review for every zoo and aquarium I can go to. For now, my limits are that I will only do public AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) accredited places. The reasoning for this is that there are tons of small, privately owned facilities and I cannot possibly visit even a small fraction of them all. As for-profit operations they are most likely to not score very high at all with my review criteria.

I will visit places only during the summer, as that is the most likely time I will have off for doing this, animals are often most active during the summer, most people who visit zoos and aquariums do so in the summer, and I want to be consistent with my data.

Below I will list and talk about the many different things I will take notes of while visiting or looking up each facility. Keep in mind that this list is comprised of things from the perspective of someone who has only been to a few, fairly local zoos and aquariums. I may add things to consider as I see a wider variety of facilities.
The noted thing is in bold while the explanations for them are normal.

Website:

• What are the primary links? The links most prominent on the front page of their website. (ex: "our mission", "conservation", "visit us", "tours", etc.)
• Animal fact sheets/pages? Can you get information about the species at the zoo on their website. How many species are represented in these pages, biases towards certain phylums, etc.
• Map? Is there a map of the zoo/aquarium itself? I know I like to get an idea of the scale of the facility and plan out my general path. I bet other people like this too.

General:

• Admission prices
• Nearby bus stops? I think this is highly important for people who don't have cars, and the proximity of the stops is important for people who have difficulty walking long distances or people with young children.
• Handheld maps? Do they give you a map when you walk in. I can't imagine why a place wouldn't, but I think it's important to mention how up-to-date the maps are and such.

Food, Bathrooms, Etc.:

• Number and locations of food areas? Are they easily accessible.
• Picnic areas? I think it's important to have an outdoor dining option for people who bring their own food. 
• Number and locations of restrooms? People, especially kids, have to pee. No one likes hunting a big distance to find a bathroom. I will also take note of cleanliness. 
• Children areas? Are there separate playgrounds where parents can take noisy children to burn off their energy. Do these places have an educational component.
• Gift shop exit? Do people have to exit through the gift shop. This is a pain for anyone with younger children.

Exhibits:

• Visibility. Can the animals be observed clearly within the exhibit (ex: tight mesh fencing, glass, dirty glass, etc.). Photographers want to know this stuff.
• Disabled access? Can people in wheelchairs or with other walking aids get to the exhibit viewing areas and see clearly. This could also go under general stuff. 
• Habitat representation? Do the exhibit designs accurately depict the animals' natural habitat.
• Signs. All species identified? Scientific name? Animal facts? Location of species? Conservation info?
• Docents/keepers? Are there staff/volunteers around to answer questions.
• Animal stereotyping behavior? This type of behavior is often done to relieve chronic stress. It includes things like pacing, performing the same act repeatedly in the same way, chronic licking or chewing, etc. While this can be a sign of poor exhibit design that does not mentally stimulate the animals enough, these behaviors could have been formed at another or earlier facility. For example; if a tiger is kept in a small cage it will often develop pacing behavior. If that same tiger is then rescued from that space and put in a spacious enclosure with lots of things to do and interact with, an exhibit that would not produce a pacing behavior if an animal was raised in it, that tiger from the small cage would probably still perform that pacing behavior. Stereotyping behavior is not always a reflection of poorly done zoo exhibits, but I want to take note of the percentage of animals in a facility that have it and the species, to see if there is a pattern of certain species being more prone to it than others.
• Shelter/hiding places? Do the animals have access to areas where they can get out of view of the public.
• Keeper talks. Are they entertainment shows or educational ones. do they give time for questions.
• Animal shows. Are they all entertainment, do they include educational components. do they show training for medical care. Do they give time for questions.

Other:

• Hands-on activities? Are there areas/activities for more hands-on learning for children and adults. are they appropriately themed for the habitat/animal they are near.
• Conservation-focused areas? Are there places to learn about what the zoo/aquarium is doing for conservation efforts. are they eye-catching and easy to read. Do they have information on what the public could do to help. 

While visiting each facility I will take copious notes and photographs. Then I will do my best to edit it all down to a not-too-long comprehensive review. I will not be making a final list of "best to worst", because I think it is important to know that different facilities will have different things they do well and things they need to work on.
It is also important to note the date I visit each place, as they are always changing and improving.

If you have questions or suggestions about any of these points, please feel free to leave a comment :)
(but be respectful and thoughtful, please)