Building Educational Exhibits

[lunula]

Are there any articles/forum posts on how to make the most educational exhibits? I know in ZT1 there were some rules around exactly how many rocks to have, trees to have, hills, water, etc. - but I can't find anything like that for ZT2. I'm trying to complete the last challenge (pandas) and I can't keep my 5-star rating! When I look at my fame, I'm most lacking in the educational exhibits and entertaining animals -- but I can't figure out exactly what they need in their exhibits. They all have enough space, and I try to add trees/plants/rocks as I get them - but I just can't get those scores up.

Any help?

[Peacenote]

Things that help your educational rating are having mixed exhibits, and having plants and trees in the exhibit that are from the same continent as the animal in the exhibit (not just the same biome).  Having educators nearby helps, too.

As far as entertaining animals I believe those are animals that "do" more things, like any kind of monkey or elephants.  Apparently also less entertaining animals actually bring down your score, so for the sake of challenges it's a good idea to stay away from the cheaper animals, like peafowl or gazelles.

Here's another topic on getting 5 stars.

[dootdoot]

Entertaining animals means that the animals are interesting to watch (generally expensive ones like peacenote said) and animals that have lots of enrichment

[Crookshankz227]

To have entertaining animals :
1. make the most of elevated paths - get the guests into the exhibits !
2. use binocular stands.
3. make sure that the animals have lots of toys - and make sure the toys are placed such that the guests can watch animals play with them.
4. use interesting animals - elephants (very good and VERY expensive), rhinos, primates, big cats, beavers and red pandas.

To have an educational exhibit :
1. make sure the guests can see the animals well - elevated paths do this beautifully without disturbing the animals.
2. keep a group of animals - and try to have babies.
3. mixed exhibits are very good for this purpose.
4. loads of plants, many kinds of trees, a few rocks and a pool for animals which can swim are essential - and not too expensive.

Generally, an 'entertaining' exhibit is also 'educational'.

[csleesburg]

And I've found that varying the terrain helps, too. I know it may sound weird, but just flat terrain exhibits are neither as interesting nor as entertaining for either guest or animals as ones with small hills and valleys and, if you can build one, a small waterfall. This, as Crooky says, is the perfect place to use the elevated paths.

[lunula]

Thanks, all.

This is so frustrating. I have multiple mixed exhibits - I found an article here about the most "popular" animals (I have snow leopards, cheetahs, bengal tigers, lions, jaguars, rhinos, hippos, chimps, beavers, etc.) and I've used all those and I've been getting rid of the less popular ones. I have lots of native trees & plants & rocks - and have at least 2 of each in every exhibit. I have TONS of toys. All have shelters where appropriate. I have 6 educators walking around, with podiums set up in high-traffic areas. I have at least two binocular stands at each exhibit, and all exhibits have viewing canopies. I've even researched all the different foods (in logs, on platforms, etc.) and used all those where appropriate.

My animals are having TONS of babies. But I cannot get past 4.5 stars, and even that keeps going up & down from 4 to 4.5 and back down. I'm maxed on releases to wild, number of animals, number of species and guest happiness. I've even added elevation to exhibits & pools to make it more interesting.

This is driving me nuts!  :><

[Alpha Raptor]

Hmm....have you tryed the Sky Tower?  That allows guests to see multiple exhibits at once, and thy can see farther into the exhibits.

[koala king]

Cute, lovable animals also help your fame score. Look and see what animals are guests' favorites, and give them what they want. Koalas, red pandas, giant pandas, and florida panthers help you rise high in donations, which are a main source of entertainment. Add some koalas! (If you haven't already )

[alloy61]

Is your animal happiness not maxed out then?
Perhaps some of your critters are getting annoyed at eachother - the big mixed exhibits can be good, but I often find the animals get more angry if there are too many different species.

[hdingy]

Probably silly question, but are you using the 'display zoo fame' option to see where you are lacking? as sugested it could be something as simple as the animal or guest happiness is a bit low, but this option will give you an idea of what you need to work on.

Helen

[csleesburg]

One thing is - get rid of those educators! They're expensive and more than one is a waste of your money. Only a few guests even stop to listen to them, so getting rid of all but one will save you a lot of money.

And, I disagree with most people on the gazelle issue. I always have a large savannah exhibit, with all the gazelles mixed with camels/zebras/elephants/rhinos/giraffes/G. sable antelope and ostrich. YES - it IS a pain to keep up, but it's also wildly popular! It needs at least one, frequently 2, zookeepers. And, if I use a large zoo, I mix it with desert spots and oasis in there and add the fennecs and oryx (both type). But- that's just ME.  :rolleyes

[Peacenote]

If you're fluctuating from 4 to 4.5 stars a lot, it really might be a guest happiness issue.  This happened to me one time when I was making a zoo, where I just COULD NOT get to five stars.  It turned out I had focused so much on creating great wonderful educational exhibits that I forgot to work on the rest of my zoo.  Due to not having enough maintenence men there was a food court that had become extremely popular since I last checked it, and was overflowing with trash.  My zoo would go up to 4.5 stars when the maintenance man came and cleaned it up, but would go right back down quickly because the trash would fill right up again.  I bought more maintenance guys and popped in more trash cans and recycling cans and I got to five stars right away.

Another thing I would suggest doing is closing your zoo.  After a few minutes check your guest list.  If your zoo has been open for a very long time you might have a handful of stuck guests - guest that are stuck in a walking pattern in a fence corner, for example.  Or guests who have magically gotten stuck in exhibits or fenced off areas that they're not supposed to be in.  These guests will be unable to leave the zoo and will be gradually getting angrier and angrier.  Sometimes you have to find these guys and pick them up and plop them in front of the zoo entrance.  Once they leave, reopen your zoo.  If you had a bunch of stuck or angry guests, I bet once you reopen you'll get five stars right away!!!

[koala king]

Give animals toys. Rare animals. Let time go by, and eventually you'll have 5 stars.

[banmenowBK]

I was alos having trouble with this completing the Giant Panda scenario, I found out for some reason that educational exhibits increase with animals with better apeal, one that you can get after 3-star fame.

[starstruck_disaster]

"Only a few guests even stop to listen to them"

I have to disagree with that :blushing: I always have tons of guests commenting on how interesting the educators are, and nearly all my zoos end up with five stars. I put an educator right next to the intersection of every two exhibits, and include benches and viewing areas near them as well. It seems like every guest eventually comments on how "entertaining" the educators are, and immediately go to donate. Perhaps I'm just lucky, but I know that's one way I keep my zoos very high in fame....

[Cuddly Panda]

Do you have any of the expansion packs? (Endangered Species and African Adventure). If you don't, getting canpaigns done can be very challenging. If you do, use the good features.

It's a good idea to use the following:

Elavated paths
Sky trams
Jeep vehicle tours
Binoculars
Educators (I reccomend you have only 1 or 2, then you get more money and all of the podiums get a visit)
Use attractive animals (Bengal tigers, snow leopards, wolves, fennec foxes, all of the apes/monkeys and the bears ((including red and giant pandas))
Remeber food courts need matainace workers, trash cans, tables and loos
If a lot of guests have the same favorite animals, include those animals.
Mixed exhibits.
Use a lot of scenery objects (from the benches to the elephant fountains to the bouncy rides to the music rocks)
If you have unlocked themed objects (Jungle theme, Safari theme, Endangered Species themeand Desert theme) then try to use them a lot.
USE THE CORRECT BIOMES (even if you want a, let's say, Thompson's gazzelle/gemsbok enclosure, don't bother as the guests complain about the biome even if the animal doesn't.
Use loads of toys.
Try to use natural shelters (rock caves, raised sleeping platforms, kopjes, and leave the concrete and wooden shelters).
NEVER MIX PREDATORS. Neither with other predators, or prey.

Hope that helped. :innocent:

[Shenzu Shikiru]

Oh, man, I can't wait until I get ES & AA!!!!!!((They are on their way from Amazon.com!))

Stay on topic! :sign_alri

[ShenTirag]

I can get up to 5 stars without using any educators at all, so I'd argue not to bother unless you really want to

[starstruck_disaster]

Can you? Well, if you can, by all means do so It -would- be cheaper.

[ShenTirag]

Well, you say that, but I tend to play freeform so I splash out on everything else!

[Smadronia]

Have you released a lot of critters to the wild? I've found that can help a great deal, try and fill that bar. Also, make sure all your guests are happy, and your park is clean. I've gone up half a star just by cleaning trash out of a food court area

[Methane]

This topic is probably dead, but I have something to say on it anyways.

Nearly all my zoos tend to be on small/medium maps. This is useful in two very big ways:

1, you don't forget about exhibits you made early on that could be bringing down education/fun ratings (Like that camel exhibit when you first started, right next to the entrance. You haven't updated it since you made it, and it's more then boring).

2, because you often fill up the map quickly, you then go back and sell the animals that aren't as fun and replace them. That camel exhibit I was talking about will get replaced when I save up enough money for Red Pandas. Eventually, you filter out every 'boring' or noneducational animal for expensive, exiting, and educational animals.

So if you are having trouble with educational/entertaining exhibits, go back to every exhibit you've made, and see if you can replace the animals with something more exiting. Then go through and see if you can upgrade your exhibits at all. Replace those Concrete Shelters with more natural things, like Cubbing Dens or Raised Platforms. Go in and remove all plants/trees that aren't from the same geographical location as the animal, even if they are from the the same biome (This isn't really nessicary in combined exhibits, because animals often come from different places anyway). Give some 'texture' to exhibits- give small hills and ditches. A patch of water in every exhibit looks good, and animals will drink from there if their dishes are empty. Delete the blocks of ice that used to have treats in them, and update toys as well.

And then you can make combined exhibits. I often have a large combined exhibit for every biome (savannah and rainforest are the largest), because guests LOVE combined exhibits, and they make your education ratings go through the roof. The preditors have their own exhibits as well.

I only put educators near exhibits that are bringing down my educational rating.

After a lot of work and money (and practice) you start to make educational exhibits out of habit instead of having to think about it.