Crafting Awe: Telling Stories of Animal Protagonists

by Celina Burgueño, Emerson graduate student and Zoo New England zookeeper

     Our six undergraduate participants come mostly from the Performing Arts Department and bring an open-hearted willingness to share and learn that has been such a joy to work with. Every time we go on a field trip to the zoo, they exude a palpable excitement, not only for the change of scenery, but for what they are going to learn. We are also lucky enough to have three learning partners from the Zoo in the class, and it has been a thrill to watch these three people integrate into the classroom. We are lucky to have this kind of unique learning environment, which is not only cross-disciplinary but intergenerational. Watching the undergraduates mix and co-learn with these adults is one of the most interesting parts of the class, and the balance of the Zoo World and Emerson’s World has been fun to navigate together. Everyone takes time to define vocabulary and explain the pieces of the world that the other side doesn’t inherently understand, and we are also creating our own vocabulary. One of my favorite creations so far is our Environmental Justice Yarn Ball of Storytelling. We use an image of a yarn ball, with lots of threads leading off of it, as a metaphor for the many ways that we can create effective stories about Environmental Justice and animals. Every class period we add to the yarn ball, and our final product will be informed by the threads coming back together at the end of the semester.

	One of our most exciting class sessions so far has been at the zoo. Dr. Jaime Tanner, from the Marlboro Institute, joined us on our visit and gave a great lecture about her field work with Spotted Hyenas as well as a basic understanding of how to observe and record animal behavior. Dr. Tanner is not only an impressive conservation biologist, but the way she guided us to examine behavior, and find wonder and awe in the act of observation, was very inspirational. Every student, professor and TA (ie. all of us!) was on the edge of their seat, and had tons of follow up questions. Getting to have these kinds of conversations, and then putting what we learned immediately to use around the zoo, is just one of the many unique opportunities we have thanks to the Engagement Lab! 

Sometimes when you are in a college bubble, it is easy to get caught up in theory, especially if you are surrounded by people your own age, with the same major and interests as you. The Social Impact Studios allow students to safely pop the bubble, exploring new pathways while still engaging with content through their degree-related field. I am a firm believer in hands-on experience, and an advocate for the idea that a college journey can illuminate career paths you might never have imagined existed. But the Social Impact Studio goes both ways. Our zoo Learning Partners are doing something they’ve never done before, bravely adding to their professional toolbox and rethinking what it means to be part of the zoo field. In this class, everyone gets their chance to be an expert and a novice, a role that changes daily depending on the location of our classroom. This is what has brought the 

, and as an emerging teacher, I can only hope that one day I can create these kinds of opportunities for my future students.

experienced some significant growing pains around the mid-term mark, but the final product that we showcased on April 19 was something to be proud of not only because it was worthwhile, but because it came together so incredibly fast. The aspect that was most exciting to me about the post-midterm process was the rebuilding of our community. Thanks to intentional placement of class participants, we were able to purposefully mix the undergrads with the learning partners into creative teams that worked together to bring this show to life. The script writing team, of which I was a member, was the most powerful example of this dynamic. Not only did we three writers meet multiple times outside of class and spend endless solo hours drafting and redrafting, but we were able to share our different ideas with the class during meeting hours, take their feedback, and incorporate it. In this way, the final script was exceptionally co-created; it became the most communal piece of work we did for the entire semester. I love thinking back on the script we had at midterms, and how that story transformed into what we presented at the zoo. 

One of the most thrilling moments for me during the showcase was when my zoo coworkers came to see the final piece. As my zookeeper colleagues were leaving the event, one of them said to me “This made me so proud to work at the zoo, that I work at a place where we do things like this.” That statement meant a lot to me, not only because it was so kind, but because it was true. Zoo Theatre is a unique piece of educational magic that few institutions use, and getting to create something specifically for the zoo, with the expertise of theatre performers to make it complete, was  one-of-a-kind. My hope is that the zoo administrators who attended the performance saw this as a first step, and continue to place value on external partnerships and creative exploration in the future.

Franklin Park Zoo, nestled within Boston’s largest park, Franklin Park, was the site-specific venue for the studio's performance of A Birder Mystery with the live sounds of peacock calls and donkey brays in the background. The performance drew over 125 zoo guests and event attendees.

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The Engagement Lab at Emerson College has closed its doors. Read the report detailing the ELab’s final chapter, read testimonials from our extended community, or dismiss this message to explore the archive.

Crafting Awe: Telling Stories of Animal Protagonists