With a mission of inspiring people of all ages to respect animals and create a better future for wildlife, the Oregon Zoo provides exceptional experiences to more than a million visitors a year. Delta AV has worked with the Oregon Zoo in an ongoing, long-term basis to dramatically improve visitor engagement with smart, creative solutions for a wide range of unique AV challenges.
The Oregon Zoo educates thousands of people every day about the importance of supporting wildlife through a variety of interactive exhibits and animal keeper talks in challenging indoor and outdoor acoustical environments.The previous speakers in the outdoor Elephant Lands exhibit were installed near the ground and pointed downward, muffling the sound. This made it nearly impossible for visitors to hear the presentations even when they were standing just a few feet away. Likewise, the echo chamber of the enclosed bat cave exhibit made it difficult for keepers to be heard over the ambient noise.
Delta AV partnered with the Oregon Zoo and consulted with key personnel to design a highly creative solution for the various audio challenges. Equipment is discreetly mounted into the environment, in ways that are not harmful to the animals or visually distracting to visitors, yet with the durability to tolerate being inside animal habitats.
Creative Solutions
Delta AV’s team strategically repositioned speakers off the ground above audiences in the Elephant Lands exhibit so visitors can clearly hear keeper talks even when the crowd is sizeable. The team also worked with a manufacturer to create custom rock façades to conceal the outdoor speakers, allowing them to naturally blend into the surroundings. In the bat cave, the team overcame the extreme challenges of installing wireless audio in an enclosed U-shaped tropical habitat by designing a durable custom solution including antennas embedded in artificial tree limbs the bats can hang on. This allows keepers to conduct handsfree educational presentations from anywhere inside the glass enclosure with the bats.
“One of the great things about working with Delta AV is that they take the time to talk to our animal-care experts to make sure we can provide a great experience for both the animals and our visitors.” says William Cortez, project coordinator at the Oregon Zoo.
Results
The outcome of both projects has significantly improved experiences for visitors, staff, and animals alike. With sound systems that deliver clear audio without being a distraction, more audience members are inspired by the live presentations while the animals experience minimal disruption.
“In addition to being industry experts who’ve pretty much seen it all, the Delta AV team has been willing to do the extra research necessary to develop creative new solutions to some of our most complex challenges,” says Cortez.