Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.

Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.

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As the public becomes increasingly aware of the morality of wildlife institutions like zoos and aquariums, these places are now having to face possible negativity and lack of support from their communities. In light of this, these institutions are now focusing their goals and efforts towards conservation education and outreach

As the public becomes increasingly aware of the morality of wildlife institutions like zoos and aquariums, these places are now having to face possible negativity and lack of support from their communities. In light of this, these institutions are now focusing their goals and efforts towards conservation education and outreach programs in order to continue contributing to biodiversity conservation. Research has proven that wildlife institutions like zoos and aquariums are effective ways to teach the community about wildlife and conservation. To measure how effective aquariums are at educating their patrons on conservation, a short survey was administered to 100 patrons of the OdySea Aquarium in Scottsdale, Arizona. The object of the survey was to assess which type of conservation messaging was preferred by the general public and if patrons of the aquarium were likely to engage in pro-conservation behaviors after their visit. It was found that the majority of respondents preferred interactive exhibits as their choice to learn about conservation and wildlife. In addition, almost all respondents agreed that they would continue practicing behaviors that supported pro-conservation actions after their visit to the aquarium. My results also showed that patrons of the aquarium were well educated about plastic pollution and the rehabilitation that OdySea accomplishes for the sea turtles due to their overexpression of mentioning plastic in their open-ended questions. My findings indicate that this aquarium is succeeding in promoting conservation and wildlife education as well as supporting cultivation within their patrons that will benefit the future health of this planet.
ContributorsErhardt, Jordan Hanna (Author) / Schuster, Roseanne (Thesis director) / Cheng, Samantha (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05