Highlights
Giant Panda Public Program:
Science, Conservation, Education
and Outreach
To celebrate the first anniversary of Tian Tian's and
Mei Xiang's public debut at the Smithsonian's National Zoo
on January 10, the public was invited to mark the event as the
Zoo renamed the giant panda exhibit the Fujifilm Giant Panda
Conservation Exhibit.
On January 15 and 16, the Zoo held a two-day public symposium, "Giant Pandas at the National Zoo: From the First Year into the Future." Scientists from the National Zoo and other organizations on the cutting edge of wildlife conservation explored national and international policies that may affect the species, the Zoo's contribution to understanding panda reproduction, nutrition, and behavior, and how the Zoo, through financial support and professional training programs, is helping wild panda populations.
In April, Zoo staff published The Smithsonian Book of Giant Pandas to inform readers about giant pandas and the Zoo's important role in their conservation in the wild.
On
August 1, thousands of visitors celebrated the pandas' birthdays,
an event that received massive national and local media attention.
Two education programs, both funded by Fujifilm, are set to launch early in FY03. A distance-learning video program, a cooperative effort of the Zoo, Friends of the National Zoo, and the Fairfax County Public Schools, features Zoo-based giant panda research that will teach students about the components of the scientific method, a standard of learning in schools across the country. The video has the potential to reach 32,000 schools, and 13 million students, nationwide.
A web-based curriculum for school and family is being developed to focus on temperate forest habitats in the pandas' native central China and in the eastern United States, highlighting Zoo research in both of these areas.
Animal Planet Series
Discovery Channel's Animal Planet division filmed seven
one-hour-long episodes of "Total Zoo" featuring
staff, animals, and the research, conservation, and veterinary
efforts of the Smithsonian National Zoo. The seven episodes,
"Anything but Routine," "Going the Extra Mile," "Learning
Curves," "Above and Beyond," "Home Sweet Home," "Adapting to the
Wild," and "Handle with Care," were broadcast in October
and November 2001. The broadcasts were repeatedly aired several
times in the spring and summer of 2002.
Discovery in the Wild
William McShea, a National Zoo researcher, conducted a field
survey in Laos in spring 2002. He discovered that the Eld's
deer (Cervus eldi), believed to have been exterminated from
Laos before 1990, was still living in dry forests in the central
province of the country. The region where the deer reportedly
survive covers about 250 square kilometers and includes 13
villages. McShea's recommendations include further field studies
of the deer population as well as additional field surveys
of the area to the east of the known habitat.
Community Outreach Initiative
In May 2002, the National Zoo, in partnership with the Latin
American Youth Center, National Science Foundation, and San
Francisco State University, established the Columbia Heights
Community Science Workshop (CHCSW). The workshop brings Smithsonian
science out of the museums and Zoo and into a popular neighborhood
gathering spot for young people. CHCSW's science programs
complement school science curricula as well as offer informal,
after-school activities that encourage students' interest
in the sciences. As part of a long-term commitment, scientists
from the Zoo's Amazonia Science Gallery work with students
and provide a practical, hands-on opportunity to learn more
about the natural world and environment.
The Smithsonian's National Zoo joined forces
and shared expertise with San Francisco State University,
and Washington's Latin American Youth Center in a National
Science Foundation funded program to develop science interest
and skills among Latinos who have been identified as a group
tremendously underrepresented in science professions in the
United States.
