After presenting their Toys for Elephants designs to the Buttonwood Park Zoo keepers, our spring semester Mass Art students went away to spring break prepared to come back and build some remarkable objects for the zoo’s elephants, Emily and Ruth.

 However, like all of us, these exciting plans were stalled until access to the school’s wood and metal shops allows such large objects to be made collaboratively again. This would have been the 10th year Handshouse presented new toys for the elephants at Buttonwood Park Zoo. But this difficult moment has also presented us with an opportunity to begin an exciting new project…TOYS FOR MONKEYS! 

We invited Buttonwood zookeeper, Joey Golden, to present join our students to understand about the needs and design limitations they have to consider when designing enrichment objects for their new clients, the many species of monkeys living in Buttonwood’s Rainforest, Rivers, and Reefs exhibit. Joey shared information about the unique habitat requirements we needed to consider, what materials are safe, different forms of stimulation, favorite foods and treats, and natural behaviors that might be encouraged with the enrichment objects. 

Students went from planning large scale toys that would require engineered structures fit for four-ton elephants, to a much more scaled down designs for a variety of small primates. Students quickly got to work reimagining the contents of their recycling bins, materials from hardware stores, and objects from nature, to design and build Toys for Monkeys instead!

Working from home, each student came up with their own monkey toy to be sent to the zoo by the end of the semester. For the remainder of the term, students consulted with the zoo staff to ensure they were designing objects that would be safe for the monkeys and as well as the lizards and birds that share their rainforest habitat. Students modified their initial process to develop concepts, design and presentation remotely, while following the process of research, ideation, concept development, prototyping, and testing before sending the toys to the zoo. 

On Thursday 5/20, the Toys for Elephants-turned-Monkeys students got a satisfying reward. In a virtual check-in with Joey Golden shared the videos he had captured of the monkeys interacting with the students recently delivered designs! 

The zoo will hopefully be opening its doors soon. Be sure to check out the Rivers, Rainforests and Reefs exhibit to see the Handshouse Toys for Monkey’s students’ work on exhibit! And follow our Instagram and Facebook pages to see more photos and video of the toys and monkeys in action!

Mallory DePoe’s Swivel Box being explored by a family of Bearded Emperor Tamarins in the Rainforests, Rivers and Reefs at the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford, MA. Video courtesy of animal keeper, Joey Golden.