How My 3-Year-Old Met An Armadillo At The Library
By: Krystal Keagle
One of the most wonderful things about the Elkhart Public Library is how it connects us to our extended community and the world around us. That felt especially true during a recent library visit where my 3-year-old daughter, Maya, got to meet an armadillo and pet a hedgehog.
Potawatomi Zoo brought several animals for an up-close-and-personal experience at the Cleveland Branch for an event called Curious Creatures. I had no idea what to expect, but I knew my animal-loving toddler would be thrilled.
Maya was near the front of the group when the zoo staff brought out an armadillo. Her eyes went wide. The zoo docent shared fascinating facts with the crowd, explaining the armadillo’s natural habitat and how it can roll into a perfect ball to protect itself.
Then the zoo docent placed the armadillo in a safe, enclosed area where it could run around and explore while everyone watched. The kids were delighted! Maya got up close and kept giggling every time it wandered near her.
“I think she likes to smell me, too!” she said as the armadillo paused for a few seconds right in front of her — making a sweet connection to our family cat, Oliver, and how he likes to sniff her hand before she pets him.
After the armadillo, we met Katie the macaw. The zoo docent answered the crowd’s questions about Katie while feeding her nuts, which Katie cracked open easily. Maya was drawn to the table full of feathers, including one from Katie as well as feathers from a flamingo and an ostrich. She was amazed by the enormous ostrich feather and absolutely loved seeing the flamingo feather — flamingos are one of her favorite animals.
Next, a zoo docent brought out a small hedgehog for the kids to meet. Since Maya has a couple of toy hedgehogs at home, she was especially excited to see a real one and even got to gently pet it.
After all that animal excitement, Maya declared, “I’m all done with animals. I want to play with toys now!”
She headed straight for the puzzle table and dove into the fishing puzzles. When she spotted another child enjoying popcorn, we went on a mission to find the source. We discovered a temporary tattoo station right next to the popcorn cart. Maya picked out a bat design and wanted it placed on her hand, right underneath a temporary tattoo she’d gotten the night before at her preschool’s carnival. As her mom, I always think Maya is awesome, but she looked especially cool with her fun tattoos and silly grin.
While Maya returned to the toy section to build LEGOs and munch on her popcorn, I filled a basket with 20 picture books to take home. We’re currently tackling two challenges: 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten and the Summer Reading Challenge. The wonderful thing is that reading one book each day gives Maya credit for both challenges in the Beanstack app. We’re up to 340 unique books for 1000BBK, and plan to reach 500 by summer’s end. She’s maintaining an impressive reading streak with the Summer Reading Program and has already earned some fantastic rewards: a free taco, a pass to an Elkhart Parks splash pad, a Wendy’s Frosty key tag, and a free book!
Before leaving, we made one final visit to see the animals. This time, they were showcasing a small tortoise, which Maya also got to touch. She also made a point to visit with the armadillo again, which was still hanging out in its enclosure. It’s awesome that the Potawatomi Zoo brings their ambassador animals out into the community for events like this.
We checked out our stack of books and headed home, and Maya talked about the animals for a few minutes until she fell asleep from exhaustion — a sure sign of a successful toddler outing. Every library visit brings something new and special, especially with the incredible summer calendar of events. We’re planning to attend one of the Fun in the Sun events later this month, and we really need to make it to one of the Friday night Curbside Concerts soon. I’m eagerly looking forward to discovering what July’s events will bring!
What’s the most memorable EPL event you and your family have attended? I’d love to hear about it! Share your stories in the comments on the Elkhart Public Library’s Facebook page.