Linda Wilson wrote: >"...as more reproductions are being used instead of these biofacts, >are we losing something basic? There are good reasons for using >reproductions in some cases, but is there a point where we are no >longer providing contact with the real?" Oh dear...my least favorite question...most often heard from children but occasionally from adults as well: "Is THAT real?" I'm always tempted to answer, "Why yes, it's real, it's not a figment of your imagination at all! It's (real plastic), (really dead), (really alive)." Of course what the questioner is REALLY asking is, "Is it alive?" I once found myself explaining (*very* seriously) that we were not in the habit of putting water dishes in cages which housed replicas! !LOL! The nature center where I work has living animals, biofacts and replicas. A very non-scientific approach to monitoring public interest in these exhibits reveals to me that: 1) living animals are of the greatest interest to visitors (particularly when they are able to touch the animal or view it out of its cage), 2) biofacts are of interest IF they can be handled and examined closely (mounts out of reach on walls are rarely commented on), 3) replicas are of interest IF they have some instructive or interpretive value, can be "played" with or are of animals which NO ONE would dream of handling if they were alive (e.g. venomous snakes). I believe that our center would be lessened if any of these types of exhibits were removed. For instance, some things just work better when they're plastic. Sometimes the "original" is cost prohibitive or unavailable because it's protected by law. In some cases we exhibit replicas because housing the live animal would be too dangerous or would require space which we don't have available. As for travelling exhibits...it seems to me that travelling with a bucket (and a bubbler that will run off a car lighter) full of small tidal pool animals (inverts primarily) should be pretty easy to do. Take a ten gallon aquarium to which the animals can be transferred after you've arrived at your destination. Kids really love tiny animals (in my experience) and tidal pool animals have the best tolerance limits for variations in oxygen, salinity and temperature, so should survive the stresses of being moved about and handled pretty well. I won't comment on the philosophical questions because they must be answered by the staff and management of your particular organization. I like to think that my wildlife ethic is "under construction"; people who have absolute values regarding wildlife tend to make me nervous as they are invariably intolerant of anyone whose value system varies even slightly from their own. Rhea Tannenbaum Exhibits Coordinator Gumbo Limbo Nature Center Boca Raton, FL [log in to unmask] ____ RheaT