Influence of charismatic animals on youths’ environmental knowledge and connection to water through the application of virtual reality tours

The term "charismatic" refers to visually or empathetically appealing animals. They act as flagship species to garner interest and participation. This study explored the impact of charismatic animals featured in three virtual reality (VR) tours of an estuary system on youths' learning, connectedness to water (CTW), and tour perceptions. Each tour included a different animal– a charismatic dolphin, a non-charismatic tunicate, and a comparison treatment with no animal. Utilizing convergent mixed methods, the VR tours were distributed to five schools in the Tampa Bay area. Students completed a post-survey (n = 366) and interview (n = 6). Results showed all tours, regardless of animal charisma presence, yielded positive student CTW and estuary knowledge. Students indicated more interest in animals that were weird, interesting, and new to them. Results indicate a larger diversity of animals can be used as interest approaches to engage audiences, yet not overshadow main message objective.