Adapted from the Wikipedia article New York Botanical Garden, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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In 1920, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society purchased the building. By 1965 it was in disuse and faced demolition. The Public Theater (then the New York Shakespeare Festival) persuaded the city to purchase it for use as a theater. It was converted for theater use by Giorgio Cavaglieri between 1967 and 1976. In 2009 the Public was in the midst of a campaign to raise funds for a major renovation of the historic building.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article The Public Theater, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Exhibits

The zoo presents three themed exhibition venues, each housed in a dedicated building.

World of Animals

The World of Animals in the southern quadrant of the zoo, features the Discovery Trail. The trail begins in the World of Animals building, but visitors quickly pass to an outdoor path that winds through the southern third of the zoo. Animals from diverse corners of the globe are shown in

settings not unlike their natural habitats. Visitors may find along the trail prairie dogs, Porcupines, Parma Wallabies, Red Pandas, Emus and other animals. Signs often ask challenging questions, reinforcing presentations made in the Zoo’s Discovery Center, or alert viewers to look for signs of animal habitation. Along one part of the Discovery Trail, young visitors may crawl through “underground burrows” to observation posts roofed with clear, hemispherical observation ports. They may observe prairie dogs in the round, right the midsts of the animals themselves.

Animal Lifestyles

Animal Lifestyles, in the western quadrant of the zoo, features indoor habitat exhibits. Visitors in the foyer of the building are shown Life in the Water, Life in Air, and Life on Land dioramas. Each diorama holds a carefully controlled environment that features select animals. These central displays broadly relate animals to their surrounds. Exhibits featuring more specific biota branch off from the central foyer. Side exhibits center on Cottontop Tamarins,

Meerkats, Emerald Tree Boas, Capybaras, Desert Monitors, among others. Some of these exhibits feature critically endangered animals, such as the Bali Mynah, which exist in greater numbers in captivity than in the wild. The Prospect Park Zoo is engaged in breeding such species in captivity, a part of the larger wild life recovery program of the Wildlife Conservation Society. The zoo is engaged in augmenting populations of Bali Mynah and Cottontop Tamarins through breeding in captivity.

The main Animal Lifestyles exhibit consists of a troop of Hamadryas Baboons. Zoo visitors may observe the troop in a large glassed-in gallery which looks out into a rocky outcrop. Small caves in the outcrop lead to interior burrows where the animals may avoid inclement weather. The rear wall of the gallery illustrates common forms of baboon signalling and behavior, along with other social aspects of the animals. Ample seating allows visitors to observe the troop.

Animals in our Lives

Animals in our Lives in the northern quadrant of the zoo has both indoor and outdoor exhibits illustrating myriad relationships between animals and people and animal adaptations. The Animals in Art themed area occupies one side of the Animals in Our Lives building. At the art station, drawing supplies are provided, and young visitors learn to observe wildlife by taking the time to sketch it. Some animals found here have been the subjects of art through the ages, while other up-close exhibits highlight the inherent beauty and form of certain species. The other side of the building showcases animals and their adaptations for a variety of survival needs. Here, visitors learn how colors help animals attract one another, blend into their surroundings or send off warning signals. A small nocturnal area showcases animals who have adapted to life at night.

A small working barn further north of the building contains the Animals in Our Lives exhibit. It is organized around a working barn with sheep, cows, goats, ducks, geese and other “working” animals. The farm setting serves to remind visitors that animals have commercial importance in human affairs.

Educational programs

The zoo hosts educational venues as well as exhibits. These revolve around the Discovery Center, a building with classrooms and laboratories designed to introduce school-age children to investigative practices of environmental and wildlife scientists. The Discovery Center introduces children to laboratory practices; they learn about and use professional laboratory equipment and learn how to integrate what they observe into zoological theory. These programs are based on educational concepts developed through WIZE (Wildlife Inquiry through Zoo Education), a program developed by Bronx Zoo educators.

The volunteer program at the Prospect Park Zoo engages members of the community; it is a combination outreach and educational program for adults. Volunteer

guides conduct tours for visitors, while volunteer docents augment the educational program. Docents enroll in a four month training program. Following their graduation, docents assist staff in putting on demonstrations and explaining exhibits.

Special events round out these periodic offerings. In 2007, Prospect Park Zoo outreach educators presented “Bison and American Prairies” at the Brooklyn Public Library. They employed kinaesthetic activities to teach about the dynamics of food webs, the role of keystone species, and the effect of one animal’s extinction on other animals. WCS efforts to conserve the American bison

illustrated various aspects of animal population interactions.

Facilities

The zoo grounds and building exteriors were designed by Aymar Embury II. The facility consists of six red brick and lime-stoned trimmed buildings grouped in a semi-circular arrangement around a central courtyard with the seal pool occupying the center of the court. The building exteriors date to the 1930s while the interiors were built during the 1989 – 1993 reconstruction. There is a freestanding wooden barn just north of the circular group of buildings. A set of stairs from the main entrance leads visitors down to zoo level. A small restaurant and the administrative center is immediately to the left, occupying the southeastern quadrant of the zoo. The Discovery Center is immediately to the right, occupying the northeastern quadrant of the zoo. Arrayed in front of the visitor are the three exhibit buildings, The World of Animals to the south, the Animal Lifestyles building, behind the seal pool directly in front of the visitor, Animals in our Lives is to the right. Visitors may view the exhibits in any order.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Prospect Park Zoo, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon first surfaced at about the same time. On April 7, 1994, a lengthy newsgroup thread headed “Kevin Bacon is the Center of the Universe” appeared.

The game was created in early 1994 by three students at Albright College, Craig Fass, Brian Turtle, and Mike Ginelli. According to an interview with the three in the spring 1999 issue of the college’s magazine, ”The Albright Reporter”, they were watching ”Footloose” during a heavy snowstorm. When the film was followed by ”The Air Up There”, they began to speculate on how many movies Bacon had been in and the number of people he had worked with.

In the interview, Brian Turtle said, “It became one of our stupid party tricks, I guess. People would throw names at us, and we’d connect them to Kevin Bacon.”

The trio wrote talk show host Jon Stewart a letter telling him that “Kevin Bacon was the center of the entertainment universe” and explaining the game. They appeared on ”The Jon Stewart Show” and ”The Howard Stern Show” with Bacon to explain the game. Bacon admitted that he initially disliked the game because he believed it was ridiculing him, but he eventually came to enjoy it. The three inventors released a book, ”Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” (ISBN 9780452278448), with an introduction written by Bacon. A board game based on the concept was released by Endless Games.

Bacon also appeared in a commercial for the Visa check card that parodied the game. In the commercial, Bacon wants to write a check to buy a book, but the clerk asks for his ID, which he does not have. He leaves and returns with a group of people, then says to the clerk, “Okay, I was in a movie with an extra, Eunice, whose hairdresser, Wayne, attended Sunday school with Father O’Neill, who plays racquetball with Dr. Sanjay, who recently removed the appendix of Kim, who dumped you sophomore year. So you see, we’re practically brothers.”

The concept was also presented in an episode of the TV show ”Mad About You” dated November 19, 1996 in which a character expressed the opinion that every actor is only three degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon. Bacon spoofed the concept himself in a cameo he performed for the independent film, ”We Married Margo”.

Bacon provides the voice-over commentary for the NY Skyride attraction in the Empire State Building in New York City. At several points throughout the commentary, Bacon alludes to his connections to Hollywood stars via other actors with whom he has worked.

In 2009, Bacon narrated a National Geographic Channel show ‘The Human Family Tree’ – a program charting the work of the Genographic Project and their work on the genetic interconnectedness of all humans.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article Katharine L Sharp, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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