Switch Zoo was created by Tubehead: Penny Kurtz, an artist, instructional designer, and web developer; and the late, great Guy Spataford, who was an animator, musician, filmmaker, and software developer. Tubehead is located in Albany, New York, US.

The idea of creating a zoo where visitors can make new animals came to us one day when we were contemplating fun things to do with interactive multimedia. We started by making a small, nine-animal version of the zoo and publishing it online in 1999.

We soon began receiving lots of email from players who loved the zoo but wanted more animals. We also heard from school children and teachers who enjoyed using Switch Zoo for language arts, science, and art projects. Their enthusiasm and suggestions prompted us to add many more animals, bringing the total to 142. We also added more games and activities to the site, and information about animals including profiles of all the animals in Switch Zoo. Guy created enchanting music performed by animals. (Don't miss Dance of the Sugar Plum Furry and Fur Elise.) Guy describes how the music was created in this interview.

While maintaining the online zoo, we developed the Switch Zoo app. This version of Switch Zoo was designed to be played offline, which enabled us to use much larger pictures and animations, and include new features like the Randomizer and My Switcheroos, where you can save and name your animal, and write a story. It was great making the iPad and Android versions... Switch Zoo could be played by touch for the first time.

I always enjoy hearing from visitors, so feel free to drop me a line! Thanks for visiting Switch Zoo. I hope you have a great time here!

Penny
Switch Zookeeper

Contact info: switchzookeeper at gmail dot com