I’m not going to pretend I understand what the latest Pokémon Go craze is all about or even how it works, an obvious reminder of my age. No less than 20 people have tried to explain it to me. I don’t get it, but I’ve quickly embraced it. Pokémon Go makes use of GPS and camera compatible devices and allows players to capture, battle, and train virtual creatures – Pokémons. If you’re paying attention you can see people of all ages walking through our city looking at their phones more than ever. Many of them are playing Pokémon Go.
Part of the San Antonio Zoo’s mission is to get people to disconnect and re-connect with nature and conservation. Ironically, a cell phone video game is helping do just that. Shortly after the game launched we began to see players at the Zoo and Brackenridge Park. The Zoo crew that was in on this phenomenon was telling us that the Zoo was quickly becoming a Pokémon Go hot spot.
We decided to embrace the phenomenon as we noticed it was getting kids, families, Millennials, and fans across the spectrum outside, exercising, and getting out in nature. Last week we held a Pokémon Go event after hours. We had expected a couple hundred people to come play at the Zoo, so we were shocked when thousands showed up. I had never seen anything like it. People spent hours exploring the zoo and looking for Pokémon all while taking in the amazing animals we care for.
We are seeing people of all ages, from all walks of life, people that may have never visited a zoo, or hadn’t since childhood. Zoos in general should be fun first and foremost, it’s why people come. Our job once people visit our facilities to educate them on the animals in our care, conservation efforts, and the plight of animals in the wild. Pokémon Go gives us a great opportunity to reach a new audience and take advantage of the opportunity to inspire them. As a society, the more we know the better we can do.
As parents we all struggle with how much time to allow our children to be indoors because getting them outside is critical to their development. Study after study has shown that nature deficit is a major problem in todays’ society so we support anything that gets people outside to play, even if it is a cell phone video game.
We were so inspired by the amount of families and children that came to our first Pokémon Go event that we’ve decided to host more. Now each Friday evening in August the Zoo will host a family-friendly Pokémon Go event. The entire cultural corridor consisting of the Witte Museum, The DoSeum, Japanese Tea Garden, Kiddie Park, Brackenridge Park, and more are seeing new faces and are taking advantage of this opportunity to educate and inspire learning and play in their own way.
Top image: Children take pictures with a life-size Pikachu character. Photo courtesy of the San Antonio Zoo.
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