From a young age, it’s an almost instinctive human emotion to want to connect with animals. As children, we fantasize about what it must be like to have a tail. Or wings. Maybe even feathers. It’s this curiosity that fuels our imagination and makes us want to learn more about animals and their relationship to us. Once activated, this curiosity never leaves—even years later when we become adults.

Launching in 2008, the “our gallery site” is part of the Critter Quest interactive media campaign built out of the San Francisco Zoo’s mission statement of “connecting people with wildlife, inspiring caring for nature and advance conservation action.” Instead of just showing pictures of animals to get people to remember the zoo, we wanted to create opportunities to get Bay Area residents to re-connect with animals as well as to remind everyone that the San Francisco Zoo belongs to all of us.

As an event, Critter Quest is happening all summer long at the zoo offering visitors the chance to learn about and interact with a wide range of animals.