During the month leading to the exhibit opening, we used blank billboards as a canvas for the flamingos to decorate. Each week, the billboards were peppered with more and more mysterious, poop-like pink splotches, as if flamingos were flying into Seattle. We kept the message blind for three weeks as the pink splotches progressively covered more and more of the billboard, eventually revealing text underneath. On the fourth week, the board was completely pink, with the message, “The flamingos are here” and the Woodland Park Zoo logo. The billboards made it feel as though parts of Seattle were really covered in pink flamingo poop. Thankfully, without the smell.

That summer, the zoo enjoyed their second best year in the over 100 years of being in business. The often-neglected corner of the zoo where the flamingos now reside saw a 150% increase in foot traffic. And no one was hit with any flamingo poop.