Immersion Exhibit

An immersion exhibit is a naturalistic zoo environment that gives visitors the sense they're actually in the animals' habitats. Buildings and barriers are hidden. By recreating sights and sounds from natural environments, immersion exhibits provide an indication about how animals live in the wild.

The landscape immersion term and approach were developed in 1975 through the efforts of David Hancocks at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo. This led to the zoo's ground-breaking gorilla exhibit, which opened in 1978. The concept became the industry standard by the 1980s, and has since gained widespread acceptance as the best practice for zoological exhibits.

Famous quotes containing the word exhibit:

    Some minds are as little logical or argumentative as nature; they can offer no reason or “guess,” but they exhibit the solemn and incontrovertible fact. If a historical question arises, they cause the tombs to be opened. Their silent and practical logic convinces the reason and the understanding at the same time. Of such sort is always the only pertinent question and the only satisfactory reply.
    Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)