What Constitutes "Meaningful Public Education"?

On April 27th, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife Committee conducted an oversight hearing into "Marine Mammals in Captivity: What Constitutes Meaningful Public Education?".
This topic has become topical in recent years due to efforts by some organizations to downplay the longstanding role that zoos, aquariums and other research and public display centers play in promoting public understanding of ocean life. The debate came into even sharper focus with the recent publication of an article in Society & Animals 18 (2010) 126-138 (see http://www.animalsandsociety.org/resources/index.php?pid=87&tpid=22). That article was critical of one of the benchmark studies to evaluate the impact of aquaria on visitor education (that report is available from http://www.aza.org/visitor-and-public-research/).

As ranking committee member, Congressman Don Young from Alaska noted in his remarks during the hearing, aquariums do indeed play a significant role in shaping understanding of marine life, particularly give the increasingly urban nature of modern society. As a former educator, he noted that his measure of success was that… “If I can encourage one young mind to begin to think, then I have accomplished my goal”. He went on to note that visiting aquaria generates an increased curiosity for marine species and that can play an influential role in education. Congressman Young’s full remarks can be viewed on http://donyoung.house.gov/.
I have no doubt that we meet that standard each and every day. The feedback we receive from our visitors (of all ages and backgrounds) routinely suggests that we do indeed provide them with an understanding of life in the oceans which is unique and valued and which motivates them to value our oceans more.
However, we also understand the importance of demonstrating the value to society of the privilege we are afforded in being able to maintain animals for display and for research and so I tracked this week’s hearing with great interest. The full testimony presented by eight panelists is available from the Committee website: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=60&extmode=view&extid=348.
The comments by new National Marine Fisheries Service Assistant Administrator, Eric Schwaab, were particularly insightful. He noted that… “NMFS acknowledges that there are many different ways to educate the public about marine mammal conservation. Approximately 100 facilities hold marine mammals for public display purposes and each facility has tailored its education and conservation programs to serve particular audiences within the constraints of available resources. To create a “one size fits all” approach to educating the public fails to embrace the need to craft current and meaningful messages utilizing the many different educational resources available”.

Clearly there are a range of perspectives on how best to educate the public about ocean life and that divergence of viewpoints reinforces our commitment to exceed all regulatory standards and industry best practices and to ensure that there is a clear line of sight between our research, education and stewardship activities.

I hope that our visitors will continue to be patient with our staff as we again survey visitors in 2010 to better understand how we affect people’s knowledge, behavior and attitudes…. and please – don’t be backward in letting us know what your visit to the Center meant to you!