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Yes—but “help” can mean several different things. A video game can make animal care and conservation topics interactive, and environmental education research suggests games may support learning. That is not the same as proving that a particular zoo game changes visitors’ behavior, protects wild populations, or improves the welfare of zoo animals. Those outcomes need to be measured separately.
What does it mean for a game to help a zoo?
Zoo games can aim to help in three distinct ways. Keeping them separate makes it easier to judge what a game actually accomplishes:
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- Visitor learning: Players encounter species facts, habitat needs, animal-care decisions, or conservation challenges. Learning can mean remembering information, understanding a problem, or developing practical skills; those are not interchangeable outcomes.
- Conservation beyond the zoo: A game may direct players toward a wildlife project or connect participation to donations. An announced funding mechanism is not, by itself, proof of lasting conservation impact.
- Animal enrichment: Interactive technology may give an animal cognitive challenges or more opportunities for choice. Whether that benefits welfare requires evidence about the animal’s experience, not just evidence that it used the game.
What does the evidence say about learning?
The broader evidence is encouraging but not conclusive for zoo games in particular. A 2023 review of serious games for environmental education included 56 records: 45 empirical studies and 11 reviews. Its overall synthesis was positive about potential learning, attitude, and behavioral benefits. It also identified weaknesses in how educational effectiveness is evaluated and a shortage of studies that track long-term effects. Tan et al., 2023
A 2018 conservation-course study involved 55 multinational students and compared experiential games, supplemental games, and didactic instruction. The authors described experiential games as a useful complement to teaching. Because this was a classroom study, it does not establish that a zoo game changes public behavior or produces conservation gains. PeerJ study, 2018
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Research on zoo and aquarium education also shows why the outcome matters. A 2022 review of 29 peer-reviewed studies published from January 2011 through April 2020 found that cognitive outcomes—such as knowledge—accounted for 37% of the outcomes investigated. The review noted inconsistent outcome definitions and called for stronger study of behavior-relevant results. Remembering a fact, feeling empathy, changing a habit, and contributing to species protection are different claims. Moss et al., 2022
Examples of games connected to zoos and conservation
Zoo Guardians: animal care and conservation for young players
In 2020, Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute announced Zoo Guardians, developed with JumpStart Games. Aimed at children and animal lovers starting at age 9, it invited players to build zoos, care for animals, complete quests, and interact with 3D wildlife using augmented reality. Smithsonian said players could learn from animal experts and conservation scientists. The launch announcement described the game as free for Apple and Android devices; that historical launch detail does not establish its current availability. Smithsonian announcement, 2020
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Eco Detectives: a classroom game with a real-world extension
Zoos Victoria describes Eco Detectives as a free Minecraft Education game recommended for years 4–6. Students investigate real-world conservation issues, with projects and other learning resources intended to take the work beyond the screen. The game was made by official Minecraft partners and developed with Microsoft and zoo partners in Australia and New Zealand. It illustrates how a game can act as a starting point for educator-led discussion and practical follow-up, rather than treating play as the whole lesson. Zoos Victoria: Eco Detectives
AZA projects: funding links and animal facts
An AZA announcement about a historical Zoo Tycoon partnership described monthly community challenges. Players voted on AZA-endorsed field conservation projects, and Microsoft said it would donate $10,000 to each project if the community met its challenge. That was a specific arrangement reported in 2013, not evidence of an offer that remains active. AZA announcement, 2013
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AZA also described TailsUp! as a free animal-guessing app featuring animal categories and shareable facts. Its announcement said proceeds from optional in-app deck purchases would go toward AZA’s conservation mission. The announcement does not establish the app’s current store status or whether proceeds continue today. AZA announcement about TailsUp!
Can games improve the welfare of zoo animals?
That possibility is being investigated, but the available evidence does not establish a welfare benefit. Bristol Zoological Society and the University of Bristol describe Gorilla Game Lab as a project exploring whether cognitive gameplay can support gorilla well-being, whether higher engagement can be observed, and how the technology affects visitors’ perceptions of gorilla intelligence and welfare.
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The project says it is creating a game intended to provide stimulation, encourage play, and give gorillas more choice and control. Those are aims and research questions, not verified outcomes. A meaningful welfare assessment would need to consider factors such as the animal’s control over participation, social context, and observed welfare measures; engagement alone is not proof of benefit. Gorilla Game Lab
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What makes a zoo game useful?
A compelling game is not automatically an effective educational tool. The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) education strategy emphasizes evidence-based explanations and connects learning with animal management, health, care and welfare, knowledge, empathy, practical skills, conservation stories, and pro-environmental behavior. It also calls for transparent discussion of subjects audiences may find controversial. WAZA International Strategy on Conservation Education
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When assessing a zoo game, look for more than polish or play time:
- A clear learning aim: Does it teach species recognition, habitat needs, zoo operations, conservation threats, or practical action?
- Meaningful player choices: Do decisions have understandable consequences, or is the experience mainly trivia and clicking?
- Credible development and review: Did zoo staff, educators, conservation organizations, or subject specialists contribute to the content?
- A bridge to life outside the game: Is there a zoo visit, staff-led conversation, wildlife project, or actionable resource that connects simulated choices to real issues?
- Appropriate outcome measurement: Does evaluation go beyond participation to test knowledge, attitudes, behavior, and follow-up over time?
- Careful welfare claims: For games used by animals, are choice, control, social context, and observed welfare considered rather than treating interaction as proof of benefit?
What a zoo game can—and cannot—show
Environmental serious games appear promising as learning tools, and specific zoo and conservation projects show how play can introduce animal care, wildlife facts, and real-world issues. But the evidence described here does not establish a long-term causal effect of a particular zoo video game on visitor behavior or wild populations. Nor does it establish that game technology improves the welfare of zoo animals.
The most defensible way to judge a game is to ask what outcome it was designed to support, how that outcome was assessed, and whether the result extends beyond participation or short-term recall. A game can create an opportunity to learn; evidence is needed to show what players or animals gained from it.
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