Zoos & aquariums for the next decade – embracing technology?
in association with  ACE 2010 – a hit at Paignton
After the excitement of the Awards Ceremony the night before, the ACE conference started with a joint day for Marketers and Educators exploring the theme of modern zoos embracing technology. Following an introduction by Simon Tonge and Adrian Sanders MP, keynote speaker Tony Sefton from Vision XS soon had delegates standing up and sitting down in response to a thought-provoking quiz. Simon Mann from Chester shared thoughts on the role of technology in the master plan for Chester’s ` super zoo’ and Andrew Cooper from the BBC Natural History Unit spoke of the advancements in technology that help create some of the amazing wildlife footage we see on TV. This included a fascinating demonstration of a hovering, helicamera.
After coffee, Mike Cobb from HMC Interactives talked about interactive technology and, Professor Elizabeth Wood from the University of Exeter spoke about the theories of play and playfulness in children’s development. The lively debate which ensued explored the extent to which technology would play a part in the future zoo experience.
The afternoon session offered a choice of workshops; on Heritage Lottery Funding, Interpretation and Social Media Marketing, which were all well received by participants. The conference dinner at Living Coasts rounded off the day perfectly – a murder mystery evening in the spirit of Agatha Christie, with many delegates entering into the spirit of the evening in 1920s costume.
The following day educators and marketers split into two groups. The marketing day began with a talk from Dave Meneer, formerly of Eden Project and now CEO of the Jamie Oliver project Fifteen Cornwall, who explored the amazing advances in technology over the past 20 years. Other highlights included presentations on the technologies of market research, on versus offline marketing, and the science of forecasting visitor numbers. There was also a fascinating look at the impact of technology on crisis communication and how big companies responded to events such as the breakdown of Eurostar last Christmas. Mark Stuart from the Chartered Institute of Marketing spoke about the shape of digital to come and gave his annual update on Marketing and the Law.
Highlights of the educators’ day included a talk by David Weatherly, Advisor for Geography and Education for Sustainability on making zoo education engaging, a talk on Twycross’s sign safari by Jo Hardy and how we are using technology in the classroom by e-learning advisor Steve Cayley.
With the delegates back together, Shepreth and Curraghs Wildlife Park who won awards last year for marketing and education projects respectively, gave interesting presentations. The message was, be in to win it – and hopefully inspired delegates to enter into next year’s awards. Twycross Zoo will be hosting the 2011 ACE Conference which we are already looking forward to!
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