Meet Brookfield Zoo's 'Mr. Gadget' at June 8 online program

The Chicago Zoological Society continues its lecture series on Tuesday, June 8, with "Mr. Gadget: An Overview of Brookfield Zoo's Environmental Quality Program."

The online program with the zoo's environmental quality manager John Kanzia begins at 7 p.m. on Zoom.

Learn about the zoo's comprehensive environmental monitoring program and how he came into his position at the zoo.

Utilizing a combination of over thirty different pieces of equipment, John is able to analyze water, light, air, and sound to ensure that environmental conditions are appropriate. He also manages a network of aquaculture monitors that provide around-the-clock surveillance and alarming for the zoo's most critical aquatic systems.

There is a suggested donation of $10.

Sign up at www.czs.org/LectureSeries.

Kanzia is the environmental quality manager at the Chicago Zoological Society's Brookfield Zoo. He has been with the Chicago Zoological Society since February 2006 but began his career at the John G. Shedd Aquarium as a Water Quality Volunteer and Technologist. He earned a BA in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has over two decades of experience in analytical water quality monitoring. His current environmental quality program at the Brookfield Zoo takes a comprehensive look at the zoo's exhibitry, including water quality, indoor air quality, exhibit lighting, sound monitoring, and how animals thermoregulate within their exhibits.

With an arsenal of over 30 different instruments, Kanzia is a regular "gadget guy."