| abstract | - Zoo Tek Phoenix (originally just Zoo Tek) is a Zoo Tycoon fansite and the longest-running fansite still online in the community, and the central hub of community for the original Zoo Tycoon. The site was first established by Scott Bishop (LAWebtek) in 2003 & is currently run by Jan Battles (Savanahjan) and Brandi Armunrud (Brandi) Zoo Tek was responsible for many innovations in the Zoo Tycoon Community, they were the first site to host a games arcade, the first site to run a special forum where admins from all sites could chat about inter-site issues, the first site to create a post of Ambassador to share site news, and the first site with it's own official zoologist (Professor Paul in real life is Dr. Paul Radbourne, a doctor of zoology.). In addition to some of the most innovative Zoo Tycoon downloads, they are also the main link for the Zoo Tycoon Brains Trust, a database of animal suggestions for the game & Professor Paul's Nature Encyclopedia. Zoo Tek remains the most popular original Zoo Tycoon forum, and caters to all ages, with special sections for younger members and was affiliated to many of the other popular sites in their own right, including ZTU, ZTUF, ZA, ZT Designer's Guild, though only the last is still online. Among the many features of Zoo Tek which don't relate directly to Zoo Tycoon are the Virtual Zoo Tours, where members can share their own zoo photos, photo galleries for members & their pets, sections for discussing cookery and gardening and even a section where members are encouraged to show their non-ZT creativity by sharing their art or their writings. Another big feature of the site is it's celebration of global diversity, members are regularly updated about holidays & festivals coming up around the world & are encouraged to find out more about other cultures, making the site an educational as well as an enjoyable place to visit.
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