This episode’s guest is Kevin McAvoy, an aquarium biologist at a major public aquarium  and the one of the hosts of the Radioactive Spider-Pod, a comedy show that looks at the 1990s animated Spider-Man series. We talk about what an aquarium biologist is, some of the science and work needed to build and maintain an aquarium’s exhibits, as well as the importance of communicating this science to the public.

What is an Aquarist?

One of the questions Kevin answers is, “what is an aquarist or an aquarium biologist?” As Kevin puts it, these are people who are part of the husbandry department who help take care of the animals, from feeding, checking up on their general health and well-being, to the health and well-being of the exhibits. Each exhibit is its own ecosystem and a lot goes into keeping it and the animals that live there healthy. Kevin describes it as a specialized version of marine or fresh water biology.

Kevin explains that aquarists come from different backgrounds but, generally speaking, it is going to involve an undergraduate degree in biology: animal biology, marine biology, or wildlife biology. (Kevin’s background is in zoology—he chose aquarium biology because he wasn’t that interested in plants.) Many people may even have Masters degrees in their chosen field. Kevin has an additional degree in science communication.

Science Communication in an Aquarium

As Kevin points out, working in an aquarium is a multidisciplinary job: one day you are taking care of the animals, and the next you are interacting with the public. Communicating with the public can take several forms, from the education team staging shows and demonstrations but sometimes the public gets to talk to and interact with the people (like Kevin) who take care of the animals.

Kevin says he works in one of the changeable exhibit spaces. Most zoos, aquariums, and science museums have areas that are designed to change regularly—every year or two a particular exhibit is removed and something new takes its place. This is important for marketing and getting people to return.

While Kevin was specializing in science communication, he learned about constructivist and didactic methods of teaching and learning. Didactic is the classical teacher standing in front of the class room, and students listen and take notes. Other forms of didactic instruction include lectures, films, and podcasts.

This form of instruction works for many people, especially in zoos and aquariums: you can have a picture with some facts to go along with the animal in an exhibit. Constructivist teaching follows the idea we construct our own understanding of a subject and any learning should be optimized around that. An example would be allowing people to do an experiment or simply observing an animal in a zoo or aquarium.

From a practical point, Kevin sees the need for both; sometimes you need to be told things and sometimes you need to explore on your own. Kevin admits that knowledge seems to “stick” better when you discover it on your own and this is something zoos and aquariums are in a position to facilitate. People come to zoos and aquariums to immerse themselves in a new experience and, with it, they can set their own schedule. People can stay as long as they want on an exhibit or not at all and this allows them to learn organically.

Native and non-native Exhibits

Kevin explains his aquarium keeps both native and non-native species in their exhibits and there are advantages to keeping both. Keeping non-native species allows visitors to see and connect with animals they normally would not see (and is one of the reasons why institutions like aquariums exist): Not everyone can afford to hop on a plane and go to Australia or some exotic location to look for a particular animal.

Keeping local species helps people realize what’s hidden in their own backyards and teaching people about these animals is one step. The next step is getting some action out of it that results in positive change. Once people know something exists, they care a little more about their environment, e.g., they care about pollution in their streams, or about making better sea food choices when they go out to restaurants. Hence, there is a need for both to draw people in.

Listen if you would like to learn more about how aquariums and aquarists communicate science to the public.

Check out Kevin’s podcast: http://www.radioactivespiderpod.com/