Lincoln Park Zoo Coloring books

Hello! My proposal is to create a ‘coloring book’ for each house at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  The coloring books would concentrate on exhibit houses in the zoo. The coloring books would feature a map, and an illustration of every exhibit in that house. The exhibits would be arranged as you would see them as you walked through the house, so that the book could serve as something of a 'guide' for the animal house.  Each animal (or group of animals, if there is more than one animal in an exhibit) would be drawn in simple black and white line art in it’s habitat. One the page with the animal would be relevant information about the species, such as where it lives, what it eats, it's habits. In other words, it's ecological niche. If relevant, the book will also mention facts about conservation, interspecies relationships, ect.

In some cases information regarding the animal as an individual would be supplied. For example, the ape house. I think it is important that people know something about the animals they are looking at not just as an ambassador of a species, but as an individual of that species. However, I don't believe it to be practical to do this for every animal. When animals died or moved, the books would need to be altered, and this is simply not the way to go. Instead, I will only do this for long lived animals who will likely be at the zoo for some time. The Ape house consists of a small family group that will probably remain unchanged for a long period of time, and is a good example of the kind of house that would benefit from a more personal approach.

The coloring books would be sold with packs of crayons or colored markers at the entrance to each house, and the profits from the coloring books would go towards that specific house. For my project I would like to put together one of these books, most likely for the Reptile and Small Mammal House, or the African Journey House.

Who is involved?

Just me (Isabella Rotman)

Topic

Coloring Books

Integrative?

The coloring books would be integrative because they would introduce guests to the specific animals in the zoo.  The coloring books would be an easy way for kids to connect to the animals as they walk through the exhibits, and hopefully spark an interest in both the children and parents. In addition to that, the proceeds from the books would go to that specific house, so people would feel that they are ‘giving’ to their favorite part of the zoo.

Why is this topic good for general visitors? What are your goals for the project if a visitor engages with it?

I think it is good for general visitors because it is aimed at children, and would provide an easy and useful way for parents to educate their children. The books would serve as something of a ‘guide’ while a family walks through the animal house. The parents could match up the animals in the exhibits with the animals on the page (the pages of the books would be in order of appearance as far as walking through the house). In addition to the experience in the zoo, the children would then be able to take the books home to color them. I find that people very much like to bring home souvenirs from places like zoo’s, and this would serve that purpose well.

Media format?

Coloring books (Printed black and white pages, color cover, crayons).

Research for this particular media format? Why is it appropriate (given your goal, skills, accessibility, etc.)

The media format suits me well because of my background in comics. I like to draw and make distributable books. I think Zines are a great way to distribute information because they give people something to take home and hold onto. They are also a tangible item, which makes it possible to sell them. I like the idea of these books making revenue for the zoo. I think if they are marketed as a ‘suggested donation’ and where the money is going is specified, people will be more likely to buy them and feel good about it.

Access Venue?

At the entrance to each animal house. All of them will be available in the gift shop. It I’m not sure if I will include this in my actual project.

References/Information sources?

This part gets a little bit tricky. The website for the Lincoln Park zoo gives the species of animals and facts about them, but does not say anything about them as individuals. I think for that information I would need to speak with a zookeeper. Perhaps I can find online who is the director of the house that I choose and e-mail them. As for the layout of the houses, i plan to simply visit a house, draw a map of it, and photograph the animals. Then I can research them on my own and draw them at home.

http://www.lpzoo.org/regenstein-small-mammal-reptile-house

Possible Title for the Project?

Lincoln Park Zoo Coloring Books