Walk into Indigo Bridge Books on the second Friday of every month, and you’ll be greeted by tiny claws, baby paws and a chorus of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. Children with curious minds and cautious fingers learn about animals brought in from the Lincoln Children’s ZOO or a local sanctuary through a unique learning experience known as IndiZOO.

At IndiZOO, each animal is accompanied by a handler who is there to answer any questions the youngsters may have and invite them to see the animal up close. The children then get to listen to a few stories featuring the animal, read by General Manager Aja Martin, followed by a craft-making session.

“Actually getting to interact with a living creature, while learning about them, gives children a different perspective.” Aja says. “Lots of children who come in don’t have pets, so this is some of their first interactions with animals. They also hear about different parts of the world. The more we can expose children to the fact that the world is big and full of interesting things, the more they’ll want to seek out new information and new perspectives. But, at the end of the day, it is about providing something fun and free to the community.”

The next IndiZOO event takes place Friday, December 9th from 10:00 am to 11:00 am, and will feature Sam the Tenrec from the Lincoln Children’s Zoo. Tenrecs are native to Madagascar and most closely resemble hedgehogs with coats made of hair, spines and bristles. 

“I will say that the more exotic the animal, the harder it is to find a book featuring them, but people don’t seem to mind if we can’t find books that exactly match up. Tenrec’s don’t have a lot of books dedicated to them, so we’ll be doing some similar animals.”

The books Aja will be reading include One Winter’s Day which is about a hedgehog, Little Critter: Where is My Frog, whose protagonist looks similar to a tenrec, but is never specified, and then Utterly Otterly Day, a book about an otter.

Kim Coleman, Store Owner

While one would think at least a handful of children get spooked by the animals, Aja says they’re pretty brave for the most part.

“Even when we’ve had some weirder animals the kids generally are quite excited to see them and touch them; very rarely, there will be a shyer child. Between the animal handler, moms and Indigo staff, they are reassured enough to take what is to them a big risk. That is actually a really great moment because you can tell they are overcoming a fear. You are literally watching them get enough courage to do something at age five that will transform their life.”

The first IndiZOO took place in November 2010, and it featured an owl from the Pioneer’s Park Nature Center. Since then, Aja says they’ve had all sorts of critters including a rabbit, two different kinds of lizards, a hedgehog, a turtle, a Merlin falcon, Ron the guinea pig, a python, a pair of rats, a pair of doves and a few others. 

“It is just really fun,” Aja says. “I get to read books to kids, who are great audiences. They gasp at the intense parts and laugh at the funny parts. They are so in the moment and enjoying themselves. That just continues as they meet a new animal and then get to do a craft.”

Indigo Bridge Books has been a longtime advocate of different educational opportunities in the community. They frequently work with parenting groups to promote the importance of reading to young children and have done events similar to IndiZOO for Mothers of Preschoolers groups.

“Indigo believes strongly in the value of education. Hands-on learning and unusual opportunities help children grow. We work with schools and literacy organizations to help support their efforts, but we also have events here to let the community know we’re a space they can utilize. It has been so lovely to see how IndiZOO expands and branches into helping people in other ways.”

In a world where so many children’s shows and movies use animals to get their important messages across to developing minds, Indigo Bridge Books uses IndiZOO to foster that idea and provide kids with real-life opportunities to learn about the world around them.

For more information on IndiZOO or Indigo Bridge Books, click here to visit their website or here for their Facebook Page. For more information on Tenrecs, click here.

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Indigo Bridge Books is located at 7th and P in the Creamery Building in the Haymarket.
701 P St. Suite 102 , Lincoln, NE 68508 (Map)
Phone: 477-7770
Hours:
Mon - Thurs 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Fri - Sat 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Sun 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Photo Credits:
The attached photos were submitted by Jodi VanCleave.
The woman pictured is Kim Coleman, the store’s owner.