Seattle Aquarium Otter Exhibit Benefits from Federal and Private Collaboration
Media Arts, Inc., an AZA member company specializing in wildlife media communications, recently produced an interactive CD for the newly remodeled Seattle Aquarium sea otter exhibit. Media Arts has been producing quality educational and natural science programming for over twenty-five years.
"Media Arts is actively involved in communicating the environmental issues facing sea otters, as well as informing the public on cutting edge genetics research being done by the aquarium staff," says Barbara Ferderer, Creative Director. "This interactive CD product gave us an opportunity to tell the stories about the progress the Seattle Aquarium has made in the care and propagation of this species."
Seattle Aquarium's extensive remodel of its sea otter exhibit was due, in part, to its collaboration with NOAA's Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, which provided $40,000 toward the project.
"Aquariums are often the only glimpse people have of the kinds of things that live in the ocean. But at the same time, if aquarium visitors don't connect what they see to habitats in the wild, they miss the most important part of the wildlife conservation story," said Robert Steelquist, Education Coordinator for Olympic Coast NMS. The Seattle Aquarium sea otters have inspired and educated millions of viewers who will never see an otter in the wild. But people need to know that these otters actually do live in the wild on the Olympic Coast, and that to survive, they need adequate habitat and protection. The new exhibit links the captive otters to their wild counterparts and introduces elements of their natural environment into the story."
"Our goal with the exhibit was to let people get a feeling for the coast, for kelp, for the animals' natural surroundings. Without that, the animals, as wonderful and as well cared for as they are, are city dwellers just like humans. A lot cuter, but surrounded by concrete just like us."
Media Arts, Inc., 3600 15th Avenue West, Suite 205, Seattle, WA 98119. Tel: 206-281-8811; Fax: 206-281-5798.