When we pulled into the Beckman Center for Conservation Research parking lot, one of the first things I noticed was how nicely maintained the building was. It truly shows how much money and maintenance is invested into conservation research. The San Diego Zoo feels that conservation research is extremely important, because without the awareness they raise and the effort they make, the risk of animal extinction would rise.

Inside of this beautiful building there were a few rooms that grabbed my attention right away: the Zoo’s library, the lab rooms for research, and the Frozen Zoo. The library looks like an average city library, but instead of being filled with different books on a wide variety of different subjects, there are only books about wildlife aspects. As my fellow interns and I walked around the Beckman Center, we explored the lab rooms that the different researchers work in. Inside there are microscopes, test tubes, freezers for blood storage, and specimens for research.

A huge part of the Beckman Center is the Frozen Zoo, which is a room that stores viable cell cultures, semen, embryos, blood, tissue specimens, and DNA from endangered animals. The Frozen Zoo is going to be used as a tool for the future.The dedication of the employees working in the Zoo’s Conservation Research Center amazed me due to the time and energy they put into contributing to the success of this research.

The experience I got from the Beckman Center was quite unique because you never get an opportunity to see how these researchers find their information and the process it takes to get that information. If you ever get the opportunity to see or tour the Beckman Center I would recommend it.

Tyler is a student at High Tech High in San Diego.

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