Fantasy Master Plan Maryland Zoo: Maryland Wilderness - The Giant Tree Slide/Herpetarium

A staple of zoos has long been an interface with playground areas.  And modern zoos have taken this idea to greater levels, many include adult "psaygrounds," too--zip lines are the new teeter tauter.  Sometimes the lines get so blurred that the children's play options seem to over shadow the primary function of the zoo, e.g. the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, Pennsylvania.  I see the need to attend to the desires of children and to give them areas where they can be unrestrained in their physical play; however, I also thing that these areas shouldn't be intimately intermingled with the animal habitats.  This master plan addresses on of those instances for me at the Maryland Zoo. 

The Giant Tree Slide in the Maryland Wildness is a faux tree with a hollow core.  In its very center is a spiral staircase that leads to the top with two slides for children to ride down to a deck.  This is all grand fun!  And very popular, I might add.  Besides the stairway, there are several habitats for species of reptiles, snakes and turtles.  The addition of the Maryland Herpetarium removes any need for living creatures to be housed here.  It also creates an opportunity to provide a different sort of guest experience.  Ergo the Maryland Sound Bird experience. 

Working with the collections of the National Smithsonian Institution, each of the habitats will be transformed into a diorama complete with life-posed taxidermy examples of some of Maryland's most common songbirds.  An audio feature with recordings from the Cornell University Ornithological archives would complete the renovation and provide guests with the opportunity to experience the common songs of common birds who can be seen across Maryland.  Furthermore, It might be possible to construct the dioramas in such a way that a few of them could be designated as rotating allowing for even more opportunities to experience a wider range of birds and bird songs on a season basis.