What is a Zoo Educator?
A zoo educator is responsible for providing information about the zoo facility and teaching visitors about the animals kept at the zoo. They interact with veterinarians, animal nutritionists, zoologists, zoo keepers, and other zoo staff to keep up to date with the latest happenings at the zoo and its animals. Some zoo educators are also zoologists, zoo keepers, or marine mammal trainers and combine their educational duties with these other responsibilities.
Zoo educators will promote conservation efforts for wildlife. They often give lectures at college campuses or guided tours to zoo visitors, and can also emcee educational shows put on by the zoo. A zoo educator may be invited to speak at schools or summer camps to present informative information to children, and may involve bringing and handling live animals. They are usually responsible for creating educational materials for a variety of age groups, such as handouts, posters, brochures, videos, pictures, banners and workbooks.