Texas Zoo

A blue-and-yellow macaw spreads its wings at the Texas Zoo. (Madison O’Hara/Victoria Advocate)

At the Texas Zoo, guests can see anything from American black bear to a monitor lizard up close and personal, but the zoo is looking to connect with visitors on a whole other level with a new interpretive and interactive exhibit.

In the main building at the Texas Zoo, Executive Director William Baker and his team are looking to build an educational experience that will feature interactive media stations, activities for kids and one that will tie into Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) processes.

“This will be one way we can align ourselves with field trips from home schools and the school districts,” Baker said.

The part of the four-phase project for the new Interpretive Center has already been supported by a $50,000 grant from the M.G. & Lillie A. Johnson Foundation.

“This new permanent exhibition will allow us to connect with our audience in a whole new way and expand our educational programming,” Baker said.

Beyond the interactive technology and activities, the new exhibit will feature life-sized and kid-friendly copies of animals already on display at the Texas Zoo. The three sculptures, courtesy of Little Ray’s Exhibitions in Ottawa, Canada, will feature a jaguar, a red wolf and an ocelot.

While guests aren’t allowed to ride the back of a real jaguar, they can climb aboard an airbrushed and taxonomically correct jaguar in the new exhibit.

“We hope to have it up and running by the end of August. That way we can be prepared for the start of the next school year,” Baker said.

The Interpretive Center will be housed inside the zoo’s main building past the gift shop and down the center aisle. Exhibits such as snakes and rabbits will remain along the left and right sides of the exhibit hall.

The total cost of the zoo’s latest exhibit is estimated at $150,000. Phases of the project will be completed as grants and donations become available.

The first phase of the project has been sponsored by the M.G. & Lillie A. Johnson Foundation, but the zoo is looking for additional stakeholders for the remaining three phases of the project.

“We are deeply thankful for this level of support,” Baker said. “It will enable us to better serve the educational needs of our community and the region.”

Madison can be reached by email at mohara@vicad.com.

Madison works at the Victoria Advocate as a multi-media journalist. She was born and raised here in Victoria.