As part of its 2021 series of partnerships with local cultural institutions, the Woodland Park Zoo went to visit The Museum Of Flight for February. The ‘Wild At Heart’ collaboration let hearts soar this month, with the Zoo’s Ambassador Animals taking a field trip to see the incredible collection of aviation transport, and one astronaut.
During the pandemic, with a need to be careful and considerate, to avoid COVID-19 transmission, many of Seattle’s amazing collection of vibrant and diverse arts, science and heritage institutions have been inaccessible. The Zoo has set out to deliberately partner with twelve of these, creating unique opportunities. More information on the partnerships can be found at Zoo.org/together (click here.)
For February, the Ambassador Animals Harry (a skunk,) Cisco (a Harris hawk,) and Pecos Bill (a Trans-Pecos rat snake,) were allowed to explore the Great Gallery of the Museum Of Flight. As Ambassadors, Cisco and Harry are meant to build empathy for all animals (including snakes,) and promote taking action on behalf of wildlife.
According to the Museum’s Senior Curator, Matthew Burchette, “Virtually everything at the Museum ties directly back to humankind’s ancient desire to fly like a bird, and it’s a connection everyone feels around our fantastic flying machines. And when you check their names, it’s a zoo! There’s a Robin, a Falcon, a Snipe, a Camel, a Pup, a Dove and the list goes on and on. It’s entirely natural to bring some living brethren to the Museum. Not to mention that our resident Astronaut loved meeting these new visitors!”
Visit The Museum of Flight and the Woodland Park Zoo social media for behind-the-scenes videos and interviews with Curator Burchette for fun facts about the links between aviation and animals. Note that the Zoo is currently open for visitors, and the Museum will be opening on March 4th (click here for more information.) Visit Zoo.org for more information about visiting, and the ‘Wild At Heart’ series which includes images from other partnerships!