Creationist’s Research Wins Two Awards

The American Association of Zookeepers (AAZK) is made up of nearly 3,000 zoo professionals from around 150 zoos in 26 countries! What an honor for Karina to win these awards.

Karina received the Excellence in Journalism Award for her article and the Photographer of the Year Award for the accompanying photo which was featured on the cover of the March 2023 edition of Animal Keepers Forum. Now, the American Association of Zookeepers (AAZK) is made up of nearly 3,000 zoo professionals from around 150 zoos in 26 countries! What an honor for Karina to win these awards.

In September, Karina traveled to the AAZK conference in Akron, Ohio, to receive the awards, and then, a few weeks ago, she represented Answers in Genesis by presenting her research at the Zoological Association of America Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, to a group of zoo professionals from around the country. She shared that she received a lot of compliments on her presentation.

So what exactly was the paper and the study? Well, I shared more details in my March blog post, but here’s a quick summary from Karina:

This paper was based on a study I conducted on Ark Encounter guests for my Human Dimensions of Conservation class, a required course for my MA Biology degree at Miami University. I determined that a personalized display of our Mexican fireleg tarantula, Deborah, elicited statistically significantly more positive reactions from guests than a strictly scientific display.

It’s exciting to see creationists doing good research and being able to share it with others, including other zoos around the world. Congratulations on your awards, Karina!

When you visit the Ark Encounter, make sure to check the daily schedule for our wonderful animal programs—you might get to meet Deborah, the famous Mexican fireleg tarantula. And you might even get to see Karina, as she gives talks at times in the Answers Center.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.