Profession, Articles, On a Personal Note
Stacey Ludlum
Growing Small: An Alternate Definition of ...

My company is just me. And that’s by design. I do not intend to hire employees and I purposefully keep my fees and client volume low. I view it as a complete success, but given the common perception of “business success,” I often wonder if others would agree… In this article, I outline my business strategy of Growing Small as an alternate measure of success.

Growing Small: An Alternate Definition of Success
Articles, On a Personal Note, Profession
Stacey Ludlum
Tips for Working with Introverted Consultants

Believe it or not, many consultants, including yours truly, are actually introverts! Learn the best practices for working with introverts by reading Felis Consulting’s somewhat self-effacing and certainly vulnerable ‘Top Tips for Working with Introverted Consultants.’

Tips for Working with Introverted Consultants
How-Tos, Master plans, Profession
Stacey Ludlum
Master Planning 101

As a designer dedicated to the long-term planning of zoos and aquariums, I’ve had to explain the process of master planning many times, and although every zoo and aquarium is different, the best master plans (i.e. those which have been implemented) always follow a similar structure. In this post, we address the most commonly asked questions to help you understand what master planning is, when is the right time to start, and who should be involved.

Master Planning 101
Case Studies, Reviews, Travel
Stacey Ludlum
Columbian Park Zoo: Gold-Standard Small ...

The city of Lafayette, Indiana has one of the oldest—and best—small zoos in the country. Recent renovations, thoughtful and modern designs, and focusing on providing for their local guests as top priority are a few reasons they are successful.

Columbian Park Zoo: Gold-Standard Small Municipal Zoo
Profession, News
Stacey Ludlum
Addressing DEAI in Zoos and Aquariums

Zoos and aquariums have a long way to go related to being community assets that are truly reflective of their surrounding communities. Recent discussions in the AZA suggest that instead waiting for ‘best practice’ solutions, that individual organizations must start somewhere acknowledging that our strategies will evolve as we all learn the most productive ways to approach DEAI.

Addressing DEAI in Zoos and Aquariums

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St. Augustine Alligator Farm: What’s in a Name?

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St. Augustine Alligator Farm: What’s in a Name?

St. Augustine Alligator Farm, located in beautiful and historic tourism destination, St. Augustine, Florida, holds the honor of being the only zoo in the world to care for every species of crocodilian known to man. In addition to the alligators, crocodiles, gharials, and caimans, the zoo is also a showcase for native Floridian birds, especially during nesting season in spring and early summer. The nine-acre zoo itself is beautiful. It’s all old-growth live oaks, dripping in Spanish moss, but one of the greatest attributes of the Farm is its preponderance of demonstrations, shows, and keeper chats. Does the Zoo’s name hinder its success due to its reliance on often first-time visitors?

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Alexandria Zoo: A Chihuahua of Zoos

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Alexandria Zoo: A Chihuahua of Zoos

From the outside, the Alexandria Zoo in Louisiana seems like many of the small zoos we all know and love: a city-owned facility for the enjoyment of the town’s residents and the surrounding rural area, usually located inside a park, sometimes in the rougher part of town. An unassuming (read: underwhelming) entry sequence with barely visible signage and an undersized parking lot. Check, check, and check.

But once inside (and past the entry / gift shop / administration building), the Zoo reveals herself. A historically successful, 30+ acre zoo with triple the penetration of its local city’s population, the zoo has been able to invest deeply in immersive, thematic and deeply layered and complex exhibit experiences. With this high level of guest experience implemented historically the Zoo faces a challenge for its future—continuing to present this high level of immersion within a diminishing budget of a small town.

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Natural Enrichment Ideas for Exhibit Design

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We've all been witness to, and some of us may be to blame for, the red boomer balls in tiger exhibits or the blue barrels in the polar bears habitat.  I've heard guests laugh about beer kegs in the bear exhibits, implying in some manner that the bear's an alcoholic.  Positively enjoyable for the guests and the bear, but still a problem as they bring a wholly artificial element into an otherwise "natural" setting.

polar bear video

Watch Video.

In an effort to curb these disruptions in our suspension of disbelief in an immersive zoo exhibit (in other words, in order for us to get rid of any sign that we are, in fact, in a zoo, and not in Borneo or Alaska), we need to start planning the enrichment as a part of the exhibit design process with the keepers.

Jon Coe wrote a nicely illustrated paper for the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria conference back in 2006.  Within this paper not only does he clearly outline several concepts for enrichment devices within exhibits, but also lays out some general guidelines.  Take a look!

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