Swimming with Giants and 3D Printed Rhinos with Dr. Claire Lannoye-Hall

Imagine stepping into the open ocean, the saltwater lifting your body, when suddenly a massive, majestic whale shark glides right beside you. For Dr. Claire Lannoye-Hall, that breathtaking moment wasn't just a bucket-list adventure—it was a terrifying leap of faith for an adult who didn't even know how to swim. It’s exactly the kind of barrier-breaking courage Claire has brought to her decades-long career in conservation education.Starting out as an "accidental" zoo educator when local classroom teaching jobs were scarce, Claire fell in love with informal learning. Now, as the Vice President of Education at the Detroit Zoo, she is reimagining how the public interacts with wildlife. From letting go of rigid instructions to allow for pure, immersive play, to supporting her team in creating entire rhinoceros skeletons on 3D printers for local high schools, Claire is shifting the traditional "passive sign reading" model into authentic, life-changing community engagement.Tune in to hear:-- The Power of Loose Parts: Why the Detroit Zoo's massive new seven-acre section ditches instructional signs and lets children guide their own learning through play.-- A Shift in Perspective: How Claire's early trips delivering school supplies to Peru evolved from a "deficit model" of giving into a deep, mutual partnership.-- Trauma Bonding & Resilience: What it was like navigating a PhD program during a global pandemic while her husband was deployed for National Guard response.