Asia Trail Decision Stations

Conservation involves making hard choices. In order to bring these dilemmas to life, this series of kiosks installed in the National Zoo’s new Asia Trail exhibition puts zoo visitors in the role of decision maker. Visitors are first introduced to real-world issues, such as dam construction, wildlife preserves, and road construction, and must then decide which choices they would make. Video interviews with actual stakeholders such as villagers, conservationists, and researchers allow visitors to meet the people who are impacted by their decisions. After visitors submit their choices, they are able to see how other zoo visitors voted. Zoo staff is able to monitor (and manage) the kiosk feedback through a back-end interface.