Abstract
This non-hypothesis project and internship was completed at Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder (DPMMR) in Key Largo, Florida, and then finished remotely in Miami. Completing this internship project allowed me the opportunity to be placed at DPMMR until the end of December. DPMMR oversees 10,000 square miles of the Keys regarding dolphin and whale strandings. They are the only stranding organization and team for the entire stretch of islands. DPMMR is developing and opening a brand-new whale and dolphin critical care unit (ICU) hospital called The Protect Center in Islamorada, Florida. The satellite facility will serve as a rehabilitation center for critically injured dolphins to be released back into the wild. The Protect Center will also act as an education center and a teaching hospital, teaching veterinary students and the public to enhance environmental stewardship and conservation of marine mammals. With the opening of a satellite facility, The Protect Center, within the upcoming months, there was an immediate need for exhibits and educational content for display and dissemination. The project focused on creating various educational content for display and distribution in several formats for the public. Using relevant literature and the guidance of Hunter Kinney, the Zoological Director at DPMMR, multiple forms of education were created. The educational content included various modalities such as social media posts to view before and after visits, pamphlets for guests to take with them, and posters to display within the center to consider during their visit. Then, two exhibit blueprints were created for the Protect Center; these included a necropsy interactive exhibit and a photo identification exhibit. Creating this educational content will allow the public to engage and learn about the importance of environmental stewardship and its role in conservation. Creating the blueprints will allow the directors of DPMMR to build the exhibits when they are ready to open to the public. The goal is to have the iii public have an active presence within the Protect Center through more modern technologies such as interactive exhibits and social media. For the future guidance of these exhibits, surveys were created to be distributed once they are put into place to provide feedback to the Protect Center so they can continue to grow the exhibits. The desired outcome for this project will be to provide DPMMR with multiple pieces of educational content and blueprints that, when put into place, will allow those who visit The Protect Center and visit online to engage in the content provided. Then, guests can take what they learn from the educational content about conservation and make a difference in their everyday lives. Overall, this project achieved its goal of creating this content for the Protect Center so it can used and implanted when it is time for them to open.