Who's Who: Senior Exhibits Technicians

WHO'S WHO AT THE ZOO

Kyle Newsome

Senior Exhibits Technician

How long have you worked at the zoo?

I’ve worked at the zoo for two tours. The first tour 2013–2016, the second tour is 2017–present.

What does a day in your shoes look like?

I think to say that every day is different is an understatement. Our department, exhibits, is very multifaceted. To be able to fabricate things is helpful for a lot of areas in the zoo. Day to day there are several projects underway. You’ll find us doing anything from creating special effects and props for an event to making repairs or additions to animal enclosures.

What influences your works’ esthetic?

The esthetic is dictated by the area or event. Personally, I enjoy the more realistic and representational styles rather than the more stylistic, cartoony, or abstract. Most of what we do here is representational. You’re making a tree look like a tree not your interpretation of a tree.

What was your break-through piece and why?

There is a phase one dragon from 2014. This dragon head was a scare feature for Spooktacular. We had it hooked up to a CO2 tank that would blast CO2 and we flooded the vapor with LEDs. It was pretty convincing that the dragon was breathing fire. We hadn’t done anything large scale like that in exhibits before. When we did that dragon head it opened the door to give us leeway to do bigger and better things.

What is your favorite medium to work with?

Metal. I like the permanence of metal. I like the versatility of it. I like that there is no armature necessary because your material is a structural material.

What were your previous jobs/career paths and how did they lead you here?

Well, I wanted to do art since I was a kid. That’s been the trajectory pretty much all along. To me it’s all about creating. What kind of career can you do that you get to create stuff? A sculptor. So that is what I went to school for. I wouldn’t call myself an artist. Artisan would be closer. And this is the perfect job to for that.

What is your favorite animal?

I really like the reptiles. I love the caiman lizard, Komodo dragons. There is something that is so simple about reptiles that is so different from my own experience as a mammal that I find fascinating.

What is your favorite exhibit?

I really like the Land of the Tiger. That was the first exhibit that I worked on when I was hired here, and I feel like it is the most immersive area of the zoo. To me that is the pinnacle of what we do: immersion.*

How or when did you first develop an interest in animals/the zoo?

When I was a kid, I was really into nature and being outside. I spent a lot of time running around in the woods finding snakes and spiders. My grandma would bring us all to the zoo, this zoo actually, every year as her Christmas present to us and every year I would tell my mom I want to work here when I grow up. Then I found art and went down that path. And now I get to do art and work at the zoo. It’s definitely a dream job for me.

Are you native to Florida, If so, where? If not, where did you grow up?

I am. Florida native, born and raised.

What is your favorite part of your career or what is your most memorable experience at the zoo?

Spooktacular is my favorite. I get excited about it because it is the closest to working on a movie set. It’s a production with movie special effects. It’s not just what I’m doing, the scare zones, the monsters I get to create. It’s the production aspect of seeing all the pieces come together and all the departments come together. Pretty much the whole zoo comes together. When it is done and the show is launched it is such a great feeling.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I’m often hardscaping my land with found materials. For instance, the zoo has big sand filters for our life support systems that can’t be recycled once they exceed their lifespan here (they’re fiberglass). We end up with 4’ diameter containers that have to be thrown away. I’m turning them into large planters on my land.

WHO'S WHO AT THE ZOO

Samantha Burns

Senior Exhibits Technician

How long have you worked at the zoo?

I’ve worked at the zoo since February 2021.

What does a day in your shoes look like?

My mornings are usually dedicated to building things and my afternoons turn into concepting for the future along with more fabrication. Typical days change depending on the season. Currently, we are pre-event season. So, I’m able to work on projects for animal exhibits and Zoo grounds. Once event season comes in, I’ll go into more production of sculptures and props.

What influences your works’ esthetic?

What influences my exhibit work is the location and the conversations I have with the zookeepers about the space. I do research on the animal or theming my work is going to be placed in and allow this to influence the direction I am going as well as what I can do with the material I am using. My goal is to make an animal’s environment look natural while also making it so that they stand out.

What was your break-thru piece and why?

I have two that really stand out. To start, early on I never thought I would be working at a zoo. I’m an artist. I felt I was teaching so I could continue my art career. At that time my husband, Matt, worked at the Naples Zoo and would send me photos of alligators. The backs of alligator feet look so silly!

I asked him if I could cast one of their feet. I knew I could do it. I teach my students how to life cast, I do life casts! The answer came back no, you don’t have the credentials, you’re not a keeper, vet, etc. Unfortunately, one of the alligators passed of natural causes and I got the call.

“If you can get down to the zoo by the end of the day, it’s all yours to cast.” I immediately packed up my car and drove two hours to Naples Zoo to cast the massive alligator’s foot. The details that came out of the casting was an ah-ha moment of, I want to be doing more of this in some way and in some capacity. Art can be used as a tool for education! I think zoo staff thought I was nuts. But, then they saw it and were floored. From that casting I got contacted by The Giant Armadillo Conservation Project where they flew me down to Brazil to life cast their animals in the field. It’s been like an on going 2-year thing. I’ve been working with them back in the States sending castings that are used as educational tools for locals and eventually large conservation efforts outside of Brazil to understand this endangered species. Giant Armadillos are classified as threatened with extinction in Appendix I of CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species).

What is your favorite medium to work with?

My favorite mediums are the ones you can manipulate and change to get someone to look at them in an unexpected way. I love working with a variety of media but I really enjoy sculpting because there is so much you can do with it! My medium of choice is mold making/casting which I pair with other media and processes like wood bending, laser cutting, paint, and epoxy clays.

What were your previous jobs/career paths and how did they lead you here?

I got my BFA in painting and photography and then I got my MFA in interdisciplinary practices. My MFA allowed me to teach at the college level while being able to continue make and exhibit work as an artist. My main job before the zoo was an Assistant Professor teaching studio art- Sculpture, 3D Design, Installation, Painting, New Media. When Covid hit I had to change career paths because of the uncertainty of things. I became an event florist/production person. I did a lot of freelancing as a fabricator, a designer, a graphic designer, a photographer…I’ve had all these different hats.

What is your favorite animal?

My favorite animal is a Gaboon viper. Their patterns are so beautiful. Also, their nose is cool.

What is your favorite exhibit?

That is a tough question. Not an exhibit, but part of the zoo ambiance is the strangler fig tree arch at main camp. It was the first big art piece I got to work on here that combined how you could use sculpture to blend form and function. What once used to be a plain metal arch for banners. Now, it looks like a strangler fig tree. It is something I had never done before at that scale. This project introduced and expanded on new sculpting materials that we continue to use now in exhibits.

How or when did you first develop an interest in animals/the zoo?

My husband, Matt. We have known each other since college. He’s always around animals and is just so passionate about what he does. When he was at the Naples Zoo (pre-covid) the alligators would come up on land for feeding and they each knew their name and colors!. I was just so curious. How do they learn these things? How do you teach them to come up on land? I became interested in the zoo, animal training and animal enrichment. I’m always learning something new from him and his team.

Are you native to Florida, If so, where? If not, where did you grow up?

I was born in New Jersey, but I moved here when I was 5. I’ve been up and down and all over the Florida coasts since I got here.

What is your favorite part of your career or what is your most memorable experience at the zoo?

The best part about working here is seeing how all the pieces come together, especially for the events. It can be hard to imagine in May how something you’re doing is going to work in October for Spooktacular. Seeing Spooktacular go from a concept to end product is amazing.

What do you like to do in your free time?

In my free time I enjoy listening to music and going outside. I love being outside and spending time with Matt. I’m often painting or putting things together in my home studio. Switching off the “make something to please everyone” to “I just need to make something that pleases me” is incredibly relaxing