Symbol species, days and years of animals in natural history events and museum activities

The paper presents an analytical review of focal animal species as those that are important in sharing natural history knowledge and in the development of environmental initiatives. A detailed analysis of the history and experience of using such animals in the practice of education and museology in the world and in Ukraine is presented. Among the most famous areas of the topic are as follows: 1) attention to wild animals versus attention to domestic ones, 2) formation of a pool of zoo-mascots for different activities and increase the ranking of such species or groups of species, 3) development of zoosymbolism in all forms of activities related to nature (scientific societies, publications, schools-seminars, natural history museums), 4) formation and development of the idea of years of animals (mammal of the year, bird of the year, insect of the year), and 5) formation, share, and development of ideas of special days (bat night, lark day, etc.). The analysis of world and Ukrainian experience showed that the most effective forms of dissemination of knowledge are as follows: 1) production of various small printed products (stickers, calendars, envelopes, stamps, prints), 2) production of more complex forged or minted products (badges, coins, medals), 3) use of paraphernalia on various consumer goods (caps, T-shirts, mugs, balloons, fountain pens, notebooks), 4) holding special promotions, quizzes, contests or quests on thematic days (European Bat Night, International Bird Day, Whale Protection Day), and 5) production and participation in the production of special media products or initiation of social networks (social advertising, documentaries, round tables on the radio and flash mobs on social networks). All these forms of activity can be developed within the "background" work of natural history museums, among them the simplest and least expensive are the days and years of certain animal species that can be performed within the existing exhibitions, complementing such events with interactive forms of work with visitors (competitions, excursions, lectures, presentations of thematic paraphernalia). All this is aimed at sharing knowledge and increasing social attention to the issues of biological diversity, sustainable nature and sustainable community development.