Sure, “immersive landscapes” — where visitors are supposed to feel like they’re just hanging out with the chimps and rhinos and giraffes in the wild — are the latest craze in zoo design. But what’s really the most innovative aspect of the new 13-acre African Forest the Houston Zoo is planning for its southernmost quadrant, at the intersection of North MacGregor and Golf Course Dr. in Hermann Park?
The project
. . . will feature closed-circuit TV connections with area hospitals, allowing patients to view animal keeper presentations or simply to watch animals in their near-natural habitats.
[Houston Zoo President Deborah] Cannon said the programs first will be made available to children’s hospitals, then expanded. Ultimately, they may be made available to local schools, she said.
At last, an effort to capture some of that technological synergy swirling around the Houston Zoo-Med Center nexus! Best of all is the Chronicle‘s own map identifying the project’s location, which is a gift to the city all by itself:
