Three Schedules: Designing Event Navigation

I’ve seen many zoo schedules presented many different ways, often at the same zoo, because zoos have many kinds of events, from daily keeper talks to weekend camel rides to seasonal light displays to concerts to food fests. Many times I have had difficulty figuring out answers to my own questions about zoo schedules, so I’ve organized schedule information in a way I hope will work well.

Some questions people have for zoos include:

• What is happening today, or another specific day? This is often the question for people who have already planned a visit, or are strongly considering one on some specific day or days.
• What happens day to day at the zoo, and do some days have different things for me? This is often the question for someone considering a visit to the zoo with more flexibility, or a highly specific interest in some specific animal or activity.
• What kinds of events are happening at the zoo? Any I might want to add to my plans? This is the sort of question someone who enjoys the sorts of special events zoos put on might have, looking to browse and find out what their options are.

I considered a number of ways to integrate these questions, but ultimately decided each deserves its own (interlinked) view of the world.

The Daily view covers everything from opening times to regular programming to special events. It’s got the same event information available on the “front page” of each zoo. People who are coming today or on some specific future day can quickly see what will be happening and plan their day.

The Regular Programming view shows you everything scheduled on a consistent recurring basis–daily keeper talks, weekend camel rides, penguin feedings MWF. See the regular rhythms of the zoo and pick the days you want to go.

The Full Calendar view provides filters, tags, and easy scrolling to understand all the things happening at the zoo and drill down to plans you might want to make. Plus, you can jump to the Daily view for any day you see an event of interest to see what else is going on.

Between these three views, people interested in zoo events can slice to exactly what they’re interested in.