Talosian observers
A menagerie was a collection of captive, exotic animals.
In the 2150s, Doctor Phlox kept a "little menagerie" aboard Enterprise NX-01. (ENT: "Similitude", "Azati Prime", et al.)
Additional to "Similitude" and "Azati Prime", Phlox's collection of animals was to have been referenced in "The Aenar", referred to as a "menagerie" in ultimately omitted dialogue from that episode's final draft script.
For a list of the specific animals kept (at least occasionally) in Phlox's menagerie, see Enterprise (NX-01) personnel#Animals.
On planet Talos IV, the planet's Talosian inhabitants had a menagerie which was actually an elaborate experiment devised by them to evaluate the intelligence and adaptability of specimens of intelligent life they had collected.
The Talosians' ultimate aim was to find a species that could be bred to serve them by recolonizing the war-ravaged surface of their world. Test subjects were kept in small cells with large transparencies and fed with a nourishing protein complex. The Talosians were able to test the subjects' responses by a series of illusions and telepathic tricks. It was hoped that the subjects would discover a way to escape from their cage and make their way to the surface to begin cultivating it.
Captain Christopher Pike of the USS Enterprise was imprisoned in the menagerie in 2254. Although he was able to "pass" the Talosians' test and escape to the surface, the Talosians came to the conclusion that Humans' hatred of captivity made the species unsuitable for their needs. (TOS: "The Cage", "The Menagerie, Part I", "The Menagerie, Part II")
Narj's Miraculous Menagerarium was a menagerie owned by Narj in the late 24th century. Located in a space station above a planet, it was once voted one of the top thousand menageries in the quadrant. The menagerie housed an extensive collection of dangerous lifeforms, of which the Pyrithian swamp gobblers were the most lucrative attractions. Despite the dangers its exhibits posed if they were to escape, the station operated under a strict no weapons policy.
In 2381, the Menagerarium accidentally received two Humans within a shipment of bipedals, whom Narj put on display, as he had trouble telling non-botanical beings apart. Once this was discovered, an away team from the USS Cerritos, consisting of Commander Jack Ransom, Lieutenant jg Beckett Mariner, and Ensign Gary, was assigned to retrieve them. But the displayed humans, want the menagerie for themselves, released a moopsy in the hopes of killing Narj and usurping ownership of his station. The three starfleet officer contained the Moopsy and upon discovering what the displayed humans did, the Cerritos team thus decided to leave them as exhibits in the menagerie until someone else had time to pick them up. (LD: "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee")
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In the story outline for "The Cage" (as reprinted in The Making of Star Trek, pp. 47-65), a production note instructed that the corridor of enclosures imprisoning various specimens was to be "staggered so that we can see little of the others." The story outline, in which the Enterprise's commanding officer was Captain Robert April, also detailed the contents of April's particular "cage", including a water container that was light enough for April to hold in one hand. "In addition to the water container," the story outline stated, "April's cage contains a spongelike epiloid that can serve as a bed, covered with a filmy metallic blanket; a decorative pool of surging water that has something of a splashing fountain in the center – the enclosure spotlessly clean and bare, utilitarian but not unattractive. There are no visible exits or ingresses, no crannies, no holes – April is hopelessly trapped." (The Making of Star Trek, p. 51)
After describing "a sponge-like plastic shape" inside Pike's cage as "apparently some kind of a bed," the script went on to detail the area as "A spotless utilitarian enclosure, containing the odd-shaped 'bed', a filmy metallic-cloth blanket folded nearby, a sanitary free-form pool of surging water and small drinking container." The passageway that can be seen through the "transparent paneling" that serves as a wall of Pike's cage was described as "a long corridor faced with similar transparent panels which look into other enclosures. But they are offset from us and we can see only small angled portions of the closer ones down the corridor."
A set design for the menagerie
Matt Jefferies sketched a set design for the Talosian menagerie in which the decision to make the transparent wall from glass can be seen. (The Art of Star Trek, p. 5) The corridor outside Pike's cell was a forced-perspective set, including angled arches that were progressively smaller, the further they were from the cell. This gave the illusion that the corridor was much longer than it actually was. ("The Menagerie, Part II" text commentary, TOS Season 1 DVD special features) The walls of the corridor were lined with tin-foil. (Star Trek Memories, p. 34) The transparent walls that provided views of the other enclosures were made from clear plastic. ("The Menagerie, Part II" text commentary, TOS Season 1 DVD special features) As evidenced by the call sheets of "The Cage", the set was built on Desilu Culver Stage 15.