Profession, Articles, On a Personal Note
Stacey Ludlum
Growing Small: An Alternate Definition of ...

My company is just me. And that’s by design. I do not intend to hire employees and I purposefully keep my fees and client volume low. I view it as a complete success, but given the common perception of “business success,” I often wonder if others would agree… In this article, I outline my business strategy of Growing Small as an alternate measure of success.

Growing Small: An Alternate Definition of Success
Articles, On a Personal Note, Profession
Stacey Ludlum
Tips for Working with Introverted Consultants

Believe it or not, many consultants, including yours truly, are actually introverts! Learn the best practices for working with introverts by reading Felis Consulting’s somewhat self-effacing and certainly vulnerable ‘Top Tips for Working with Introverted Consultants.’

Tips for Working with Introverted Consultants
How-Tos, Master plans, Profession
Stacey Ludlum
Master Planning 101

As a designer dedicated to the long-term planning of zoos and aquariums, I’ve had to explain the process of master planning many times, and although every zoo and aquarium is different, the best master plans (i.e. those which have been implemented) always follow a similar structure. In this post, we address the most commonly asked questions to help you understand what master planning is, when is the right time to start, and who should be involved.

Master Planning 101
Case Studies, Reviews, Travel
Stacey Ludlum
Columbian Park Zoo: Gold-Standard Small ...

The city of Lafayette, Indiana has one of the oldest—and best—small zoos in the country. Recent renovations, thoughtful and modern designs, and focusing on providing for their local guests as top priority are a few reasons they are successful.

Columbian Park Zoo: Gold-Standard Small Municipal Zoo
Profession, News
Stacey Ludlum
Addressing DEAI in Zoos and Aquariums

Zoos and aquariums have a long way to go related to being community assets that are truly reflective of their surrounding communities. Recent discussions in the AZA suggest that instead waiting for ‘best practice’ solutions, that individual organizations must start somewhere acknowledging that our strategies will evolve as we all learn the most productive ways to approach DEAI.

Addressing DEAI in Zoos and Aquariums

Monterey Bay

News of Aquaria Across the Globe

I've been finding tidbits of news about new aquaria and new additions to old aquaria around the world recently.  Unfortunately, I can't seem to find anything in depth about ANY of them, so I decided to make a single posting with links to some of the soon to be built / soon to be open / recently opened aquaria making news these days.  If you happen to have any info on any of these, or others, please let me know. 

Guadalajara Zoo's New Aquarium in Jalisco, Mexico:  $2.5 million addition to existing zoo with 95 species of fish.  The main attraction is the aquarium's great white shark, previously only temporarily exhibited successfully by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  No details on the Guadalajara Aquarium's exhibit.

Steinhart Aquarium at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco:  Expansion of existing aquarium adds California Coast exhibits, including 100,000 gallon main tank and the world's deepest coral reef tank at 25 feet deep.  Opens September 27 as part of the new Science Museum which also includes a Living Rainforest, Penguins, and Alligator exhibits, as well as a planetarium and natural history museum.  The Museum complex is another example in the evolution of the science institution as outlined in a previous post.

Xanadu Aquarium at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey:  Controversial aquarium in the works, awaiting approval by the New Jersery Governor, plans to be the second largest aquarium in the U.S., behind the Georgia Aquarium.  Estimated cost: $200 million.  Estimated attendance: 2.5 million annually.

Chiang Mai Zoo's Aquarium in Northern Thailand:  Expected to open in October of this year, the aquarium boasts 8000 individual animals of 250 species.  Nearly 88,000 sf in area, the aquarium will supposedly have the world's longest acrylic tube through a tank (the length is undisclosed).  Approximate cost: $17 million.

The Blue Planet Aquarium in Copenhagen, Denmark:  Danish designers, 3XN, recently won the design competition for the new aquarium which, as far as I can tell, is the newest in the Blue Planet family seen across Europe.  Details are scarce, but design images are not. 

We're a surprisingly social species.