Zoos and aquariums do teach the public about the delicate balance between animal species and their habitats, a new international study shows.
More than 6,000 visitors to over 30 zoos and aquariums across the world took part in this landmark study. Participants filled out pre- and post-visit surveys to evaluate their biodiversity understanding and knowledge of how to help protect biodiversity.
The study found there was an increase from pre-visit (69.8%) to post-visit (75.1%) in respondents demonstrating some positive evidence of biodiversity understanding. Researchers also found an increase from pre-visit (50.5%) to post-visit (58.8%) in respondents who could identify something they could do individually to help protect biodiversity.
Eric Jensen is an internationally recognized expert on public engagement with wildlife. He is author of the forthcoming book From Conservation Education to Public Engagement: Research, Principles and Practice. He said: "This study offers the first large-scale international evidence that zoos and aquariums can effectively engage their visitors with biodiversity.
This question of educational impact has loomed over zoos and aquariums for decades. Our findings indicate that zoos and aquariums are right to tout their potential as sites for engagement with wildlife, although some of these attractions are clearly more effective than others.