Urban acupuncture is intended to produce small-scale but socially catalytic interventions in the urban fabric. There are videos of large-scale, often funny interventions occurring in cities such as New York. I was part of an early morning High Five greeting as people made their way up a busy escalator at large transit station. The activity was super fun and seemed to brighten peoples’ day.

The mini libraries that are popping up in many places caused me to think of how this urban acupuncture could be even more localized to a neighborhood. In a 3×5 foot area underneath a tree I started placing small plastic animals bought at a dollar store. I started with a frog, then a day later added a lizard. Then every few days added another from a bear to a tiger to a dragonfly.

I started noticing that each day my mini zoo was moved about. One day they are all on a stump then another they are all scattered about. Then I started meeting some of the “zookeepers”. There were the twins from around the corner that stop each day to play during their walk. I learned the neighbor boy checks early each morning to see if there’s a new addition and watched as he crafted a play involving all the characters. I heard a story of how the zoo helped a passer-by reexamine a challenge he was facing at his job.

I have enjoyed seeing the movement of all the animals each day and meeting and watching as neighbors poke around.