At the Saint Louis Zoo – Penguin & Puffin Coast with Penny

 

 – By Tony Schmidt, exhibit designer

 

Recently the Saint Louis Zoo announced that it will temporarily close the Penguin & Puffin Coast exhibit to enable an exciting new expansion to include a Polar Bear habitat. I can’t help but reflect on our 16-month old daughter, Penny, and our visits with her to our zoo this past summer. Prior to Penny, we had enjoyed many visits to the zoo and took in the animals in the way that we always had, as contemplative adults, observing their idiosyncrasies, reading content panels and then talking about our favorites. However, now we are seeing the zoo through my daughter’s eyes, and it is like seeing animals again for the first time—really seeing them.

When my daughter (as with so many kids) sees these animals, first she’s amazed and points at her discoveries to let us know they are ‘right there.’ But then, as she begins to figure out what she’s really seeing, she’ll suddenly burst out with a large belly laugh and looks at us with wide open eyes and an expression of “Did you see that?” When she does this, it’s as if the personality of the animals become larger than life—for us. Suddenly, for us, every nuance about them radiates a new brilliance. Suddenly, it’s not just looking at animals anymore, but looking at life itself, the creatures of our Earth, our co-inhabitants. The experience is absolutely magical and I savor these moments.

The Penguin and Puffin Coast exhibit is particularly magical.

When the sliding doors first open and the rush of cool air follows to welcome us into this strangely foreign place, Penny responds with a grimace and quickly tries to shake off the cold. All the while, fighting this instinct, her eyes dart around the cavernous interior searching for the “big surprise” awaiting her. And then, true to the promise, an incredible scene unfolds on both sides of our pathway with four varieties of penguins towering over us from their rocky ledges.

As if to break our spell, a Rockhopper penguin leaps into the water and we, along with everyone else, get soaked!

Big laughs from everybody!!!

Just when we think we have seen it all, we are guided to the Puffin habitat where the animals are so close, you could almost reach out and lift them right out of the water. My daughter absolutely loves the Puffins (I like ’em too). They are like real-life cartoon characters and a lot of fun to watch!

We plan to frequent the Penguin & Puffin Coast exhibit as often as possible as we quickly approach the Fall season for the temporary closure.

Our experience of carrying our little girl through this exhibit and watching the expression on her face as she discovers these magnificent animals in this setting will stay with us for a very long time. No doubt the Polar Bear expansion will bring with it special new memories of its own which we are really looking forward to.