Triggering interest with exhibition panels in zoos: do location and topic matter?

Abstract

With their hundreds of millions of visitors worldwide, zoos are important environmental education institutions in our society. Although not every visitor participates in a conservation education program, zoos offer opportunities for all visitors to learn about animals, the environment, and species conservation through signage and informational panels. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate whether the location of giraffe-themed Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis exhibition panels has an impact on how intensely visitors engage with the signs. In addition, it was investigated which thematic complexes on the signage are looked at longer by the visitors and whether there are group differences in the viewing of the exhibition. The results showed that significantly more people looked at the exhibition panels when they were placed directly in front of the giraffe house, which can potentially be explained by the situational interest triggered. The signs with general information about giraffe biology were viewed significantly longer compared to the signs with information about the habitat or species conservation. It was also found that people who viewed more signs also tended to look at them for significantly longer periods of time. Individuals with children generally had a shorter viewing time. These findings suggest that strategic placement of signage and consideration of content type can enhance visitor engagement. However, further research is needed to explore these factors in different contexts and to develop best practices for educational signage in zoos and similar settings.