GOOD FINDS
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STORY AND PHOTOS BY RICHARD DUPURTUIS
lights camera action K E E P I N T H E L O O P W I T H T U R T L E B AY T V TURTLE BAY TV might be the biggest Redding success story you’ve never heard. When the whole state locked down months ago, the gates to the gardens had to close, as well as the door to the museum, blocking the public not only from the art and science displays in the galleries, but access to the whole park just outside that back door. Yet, happily, it turns out the public still has access to these Turtle Bay attractions. Not by pushing handles of doors touched by hundreds of random hands, nor by packing into themed rooms featuring interactive educational exhibits, but by kicking back at your computer at home, or calling up the internet on your phone from anywhere to access programming from all four corners of Turtle Bay Exploration Park. Since April, staff have provided two distinct online routes of access to the treasures of Turtle Bay, according to Seth McGaha, marketing and public relations manager. “We have been busy producing highproduction-value content, as well as candid live streaming on social media,” he says. The former is Turtle Bay TV, 22-minute clips on a variety of topics. Visitors may access
this programming through the Turtle Bay website. The second route is a series of short livestreams directly to social media, organized and executed by the heads of departments in the park. Marketing specialist Ryan Odle says the Horticulture Department, Education, Exhibition and Animal Care do their own live segments, while Turtle Bay TV represents a more formal production, coordinating with these four department heads to include some content from each for every Turtle Bay TV video. “Seth and I make a two-man film crew,” says Odle. “Even before the closure, it was already on our minds to do something like this. The closure just pushed that goal into high gear. We brought our park back to life virtually. We still entertain, still teach. People can still learn about animals.” With only a digital camera equipped with microphones, Odle takes aim at animal trainer Rachel Skrobot inside the Mill House to demonstrate how easily his rig can capture a video session to be edited into an episode of Turtle Bay TV. Meanwhile, just outside the building, Animal Care livestreams their individual public offering, an episode called “Animal Adventures sponsored by Cal Trout.”4 continued on page 48
JULY 2020
www.EnjoyMagazine.com
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