Museum of Living Art (MOLA) - Now Open

Posted by Alex H. |1 comments

As summer approaches, I am getting mixed news about what I'll be doing for the next few months. I had applied to several internships, but none of them had positions open :/

One place that I am interested in is the Forth Worth Zoo. I had a post at the beginning of the year which described the zoo and a new exhibit - the Museum of Living Art (MOLA). This exhibit replaces their Herpetarium built in 1960.

Upon visiting the FW Zoo's website, I see that MOLA opened in March of this year!

Check out their over-the-top promotional videos here or here.

The size and scope of the exhibit are phenomenal. The 30,000 sq. ft. facility houses (at current) around 1,000 individuals representing a hundred different species of reptiles and amphibians.

I'm super-pumped! I'll report in when I have the chance to visit them next.

Update: When searching for images for this article, I spotted one of my pictures in the top results of a Google Search. Moving up the food chain. We also recently hit 1,000 pageviews. Hooray!:

Museum of Living Art

Posted by Alex H. |0 comments

2009 was a rough year for everyone. Possibly the least popular year of the decade. One of the biggest let-downs I experienced in 2009 was the delayed opening for the Fort Worth Zoo's Museum of Living Art. Before I explain, allow me to remind you that my family visited the Ft. Worth Zoo last year with intentions of seeing some progress on this world-class project. Unfortunately, it appeared that delays had pushed its opening to sometime this spring.

What the heck am I talking about, pray tell? Only the construction of the world's most awesome herpetarium (like an aquarium, but for reptiles and amphibians)! This thing's going to be huge - probably the largest in the world (both in square footage, number of species, and possibly number of individuals).

When the zoo's current herpetarium opened in 1960, it held more species of reptiles and amphibians than any other facility. Throughout it's history, the staff have been responsible for the breeding of several individuals, included many rare and endangered species. This new facility will continue their previous vision, but with the world-class resources deserving of their world class efforts. In addition to housing more species than any other facility, the MOLA will continue and expand upon their significant conservation efforts for amphibians (If you would like to know more about their conservation efforts, read this article here).

The MOLA will have several different "habitat" areas for viewing by patrons, including a deserts, swamplands, and rain forests. Just check out this huge list of species the MOLA will be keeping, or should I say curating? If that doesn't get you salivating, you can view the online floor-plan for the new facility which indicates generally what will be exhibited. For zoo activity in the new decade, keep an eye out for the MOLA.

Here are two shinglebacks in the Fort Worth Zoo's current herpetarium. Shinglebacks are highly monogamous (single pair breeders). There are cases of them breeding with their mate (to the exclusion of other individuals) for up to twenty years:

Article - Zoo Animals in the Snow

Posted by Alex H. |1 comments

Haven't posted in a while. Last semester was rough.

To make it up, here's a cute slideshow of animals in the snow from zoos worldwide:

http://news.discovery.com/animals/zoo-animals-in-the-snow-slide-show.html

Field Trip - To the Forth Worth Zoo!

Posted by Alex H. |1 comments

My family took a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo just after school was out. Rather than drone on and on about a zoo many of you have never visited, I'll post some pictures. For larger images, click on the thumbnails.

Field Trip - To the Ausin Zoo!

Posted by Alex H. |0 comments

In early March 2009, Dr. Kevin Woo took his animal behavior class and anyone interested to the Austin Zoo. What a great time!

The premise for the field trip was to test constructed animal stimulation projects his class had constructed. Although I was not in his class, I joined in watching a black bear fiddle with their weave basket and various other assundry.

My heartthrob order of animals, Testudines, were in full bloom. They have so many tortoises and turtles!

Now for some pictures: