Purdue University Fort Wayne Students got hands on experience in class at Fort Wayne Zoo

The Fort Wayne Zoo draws over 600,000 visitors every year, serving as a hub for community connection, conservation, public education, and family entertainment. The zoo has been open since 1965, and has been working constantly to improve its facility to better provide for generations of visitors, including many from the Purdue University Fort Wayne community. 

During the summer of 2026, students from Purdue University Fort Wayne had the chance to go behind the scenes at Fort Wayne Zoo as part of a six week summer class led by Dr. Scott Bergeson, associate professor of biology at PFW. The class involved hands-on experiences and immersive projects that allowed for the students to gain important perspective into the day to day operations and animal care of the zoo. Fort Wayne Zoo operates as a nonprofit and cares for nearly 1,500 animals. 

In an article posted on Purdue University Fort Wayne’s website, Dr. Bergeson was quoted about the importance of the hands-on opportunities provided to the students, saying, “Active learning is one of the best ways to learn, so it’s more than just lecturing, and the people working here are a delight. They’re really passionate about what they do, and that’s great for any learning situation.”

Biology major Justin Torres was also quoted about his experience with the class, noting his love of working with the animals: “A lot of the time when you're in school and you're learning about biology, there's not a whole lot of opportunities to really be around animals and get that experience with them. So this is unique in the sense that I've never seen a lot of these animals up close, and all the intricacies that go with managing that is really cool.”

VP of animal care and conservation, Michelle Smurl, oversaw members of the zoo staff as they collaborated with Dr. Bergeson to design the best hands-on learning environment possible for the students of the class who were studying in a range of majors such as human services, psychology, biology, and others.

Students were able to become fully immersed in the zoo’s day-to-day activities, operations, and the decisions that go into the running of the zoo. They were involved with aspects of conservation efforts, guest relations, finance, and care for the zoo’s animals.

Biology major Hunter Morrison talked about her newly discovered interest in exotic animal care, which expanded upon her love of domestic animals. Morrison said, “I have a background in small animal vet medicine, so I’ve worked a lot with dogs and cats, but it's been really cool to learn about how to care for lizards and fish and birds and all the different types of animals. It’s opened my eyes to also doing some exotic work too.”

Students were presented with lectures about many of the zoo’s most famous animals such as the harbor seals and sea lions in Coastal Cove and the capuchin monkeys on Monkey Island. Students were also taught about more obscure species such as an endangered giant salamanter the zoo is helping to repopulate in southern Indiana, the Eastern hellbender. 

Smurl spoke about the importance of showing the students the details of zoo operations, saying, “We work hard every day to make science-based decisions, and it’s so complex that we want to share our world with people and help generate the next animal leaders in this field.”

In the final week of the course, students were able to showcase how the immersive and hands-on class contributed to their education when they presented their final projects to both zoo visitors as well as their course instructors. The presentations were the capstone on the foundation of the largest goal of the class, to connect classroom education with ongoing conservation in the world, to better prepare the next generation of professionals in environmental science and animal care.

More information about Fort Wayne Zoo can be found at the zoo’s website.

More information about Purdue University Fort Wayne can be found on the school’s website.