Under Construction: Night Hunters XI

The race is on to get the Night Hunters interpretive signage out to production. It takes 4-6 weeks for the sign company to make the panels once they receive the files from us. Then we need about 2 weeks to install everything, which is one of the last things to do before opening a new building. If we count back from our targeted opening date of May 21, that means we need to get the signs out to production by the end of March. Yikes! It’s already mid-March!

Fortunately, I’ve written all of the content for the signs (though it’s still under review). Nikki, the lead graphic designer on this project, is now busy laying out all of the signs. Each animal ID sign has the same components so there’s a consistent template. The components include the common and scientific name, a photo, a fact file that includes the basic information such as diet, habitat, weight and so on, a range map, and a block of text. On our standard ID signs throughout the park, this block of text is usually an informational paragraph like you would read in a book. Since we’ve decided to take this interpretive exhibit in a more artistic direction, we’re going with a more poetic format.

Fishing cat

Let me give you an example. Here’s the fishing cat poem:

See the fishing cat

Wishing that

A minnow would swim past.

Silver flash!

Water splash!

Dinner at last.

 

What do you think?

As far as the construction goes, it amazes me how fast things are changing down there! I try to go down at least once a week to take pictures, but I still feel like I’m missing a lot. Here are some of the latest shots:

Bearcat exhibit
The new glass has been installed on the bearcat exhibit.
Cracked glass on the aardwolf exhibit
Looks like we'll need to install new glass at the aardwolf exhibit, too. Oops!
Tree at vampire bat exhibit
A fabricated tree is starting to take shape in front of the vampire bat exhibit.
Vampire bat cave
The rockwork floor inside the vampire bat cave is still wet.
Painting in Pallas' cat exhibit
An artist touches up the mural inside the Pallas' cat exhibit.
Python exhibit
The floor of the new python exhibit is in progress.