Emily Matteson - Black Footed Ferret Exhibit

Exhibit design, fabrication, interpretive writing, interpretive design, and illustrations for the Black Footed Ferret exhibit at Sedgwick County Zoo, Wichita, KS. Collaboration with the Graphics Department at Sedgwick County Zoo. 2024.

The exhibit included several new signs meeting US Fish & Wildlife education requirements, as well as the design and fabrication of an on-exhibit holding space for the ferrets that represented prairie dog tunnel systems, the species' native habitat.

The exhibit fabrication process included visits to other facilities housing black-footed ferrets, which informed the overall design and utility of the exhibit. Mockups like the one above were created to map out the process and necessary materials needed to craft the ferrets' tunnel system.

All species at Sedgwick County Zoo are identified with a cohesive "label" design that includes habitat, range, and conservation status.

Part of US Fish & Wildlife education requirements included information about why grasslands are crucial habitats. We chose to highlight the rich soil of the prairie as part of our message.

The tunnel system was created from separate "aboveground" and "underground" components. My focus was on the underground section, made from carved insulation foam and Zoopoxy, an animal-safe epoxy.

One challenge was to make the epoxy look enough like dirt to be convincing to zoo guests, while also making it smooth and easily cleanable for the zookeepers (and for the health of the ferrets). To accomplish a more realistic, dirty look, I textured another carved sheet of insulation foam with dirt, rock, roots, and grass to be placed directly in front of the exhibit, out of the ferret's reach.

In this video produced by Sedgwick County Zoo, graphic artist Yang Zhao and I discuss the process behind this exhibit.