Busch Gardens to open new Animal Care and Nutrition Center
Jun 132011 Filed under: Busch Gardens, Exhibit, Theme Parks Posted by: Matt Roseboom
This winter, Busch Gardens in Tampa will offer guests the unique opportunity to observe and take part in the animal care experience with the opening of a new state-of-the-art facility, the Animal Care and Nutrition Center.
The 16,000 square foot facility will be located in the Nairobi area of the park, where the rhino exhibit is currently located. Guests will be able to observe two main areas of the facility: a nutrition center which will be set up similar to a cooking show, where educators will host demonstrations on the planning and preparation of animal foods and diets; and the treatment center, where guests can watch as veterinarians perform checkups, treatments, and surgeries on animals. Guests will even be able to communicate with the vets as they work.
Some of the interactive components of the new facility will feature guests assisting with the preparation of food and delivering it to the animals, as well as a diagnostic exercise that guests can participate in, as they follow an animal through several stations, from diagnosis to recovery.
Busch Gardens and SeaWorld Parks have one of the largest zoological collections in the world, caring for more than 60,000 animals. For more information about the parks and to purchase tickets, go here.
Here’s Animal Care Expert Jack Hanna talking about the new center:
Kenneth Storey
June 14th, 2011 at 5:10 pm
Note the ‘Future Tour Building’ in the bottom of the first blueprint they show around .45sec mark. Could this be a sign of new behind the scenes tours such as those that SeaWorld has? It would also be nice to a single tour building from which all tours begin and end. They could easily move the safari tours here also then have the safari trucks load at Rhino Rally instead of their current location.
From the second blueprint shot it looks like this could easily be a show style attraction. First scene being the kitchen, then the audience moves to the surgery viewing area, and then the clinical labs before exiting.
I wonder why there aren’t more interactive elements to this new exhibit? This could easily be improved upon by having some of the interactive elements that Rafiki’s Planet Watch at Animal Kingdom has.
Any idea what they are planning to do with the rest of Nairobi after they build this? IMO its now the area in most need of improvements.