By Jocelyn Pedersen
When Molly Robins held her birthday party at the Little River Zoo, she had no idea of the magic that awaited her there.
Molly was about to celebrate her 7th birthday. Her mother Jana Robins called the Little River Zoo and spoke with Mickey Pierce, director of fun and education. Mickey and the zoo staff goes to great lengths to make a child's experience memorable.
"He calls himself the director of fun," says Janet Sadler Schmid, director of the Little River Zoo.
When the zoo opened in 1996, Sadler Schmid accepted fruit or vegetables as admission. As the zoo grew, a nominal admission fee was assessed. Zookeepers treat small groups of guests to a personalized tour of the facility, visiting each of the animal habitats. The animals, their names, habits, personal stories, and idiosyncrasies are all explained. The educational experience and personal treatment is superior to none. Guests not only learn about animals, they leave with a sense of connectedness to the earth.
During his party-planning conversations with Robins, Pierce learned that Molly loved unicorns. She wanted a unicorn on her cake, and it was to be the theme for her party. Robins asked Pierce if there was anything the zoo staff could do to help make Molly's birthday special.
"Molly's mom said that in their family, they encourage imagination," Pierce said. "So, I told her we'd see what we could do, maybe we could plant some unicorn tracks around (her party site.) Parents need to help kids stretch their imaginations."
A few days before the party, Pierce telephoned the Robins house and left a message on their answering machine saying there recently had been unicorn sightings at the zoo. But, the fun didn't stop there. Staff members came up with another idea.
Molly and her party guests were on their guided tour of the zoo when, at the wolf den, their tour guide received a message on her walkie-talkie that a unicorn had just been sighted near the party area.
"You could have heard a pin drop when the children heard that message," Robins says.
As instructed by their guide, the children crept silently on tiptoe through the bushes toward a small, brown creature standing near their party area. The zookeeper told Molly that it was a baby unicorn whose horn had not yet formed.
Molly ran to the creature, eyes bright with belief. She hugged the baby unicorn around the neck. She rubbed the animal's forehead and felt the little bump where it's magic horn would soon form. The delight in Molly's face was contagious. Children gathered and giggled and lumps formed in adults' throats.
"It was a really heartwarming moment," Sadler Schmid said.
Godiva, a miniature horse living at the zoo, played the part of the unicorn for the children.
"Godiva was standing there as if she had been waiting to meet Molly her whole life," Robins said.
"The time, love and attention that was poured into the party was incredible," Robins added of the pleasure she and husband Michael found in the zoo's management of their daughter's special day.
"The people who work at the zoo love the planet, they believe in being kind to people and kind to animals," Pierce said. "We see it on a daily basis. It's an incredible place. The distance people (at the zoo) will go to make someone happy is amazing."
