The Haddonfield Outdoor Sculpture Trust (HOST) will celebrate grandparents day at its zoo on April 25, an event that coincides with April as National Sculpture Month.
The day will include a demonstration from sculptor John Giannotti, creator of downtown’s Haddy the dinosaur; free children’s books on animals and art through the BookSmiles nonprofit; animal face painting; balloons; backpack pins; and animal crackers.
The zoo is the only outdoor sculpture facility in the country dedicated exclusively to children. It features six animal sculptures, including Tumi, a 15-foot tall, 1,100-pound giraffe; Ndoto, a life-size 450-pound baby elephant; and Murph, a bronze gorilla.
HOST co-chair Michael Willmann said grandparents day was started four years ago, when his own grandchildren visited a zoo.
“It occurred to me to discuss with our board whether we could create a day during sculpture month, which is April, where we might encourage other grandparents to bring their kids, photo ops, find some giveaways, books on animals, books on art,” he noted.
” … Basically just an opportunity for grandparents and their grandchildren to get there and enjoy something together.”
The first grandparents day drew about 100 people; last year’s event saw about 200.
Unlike other sculpture gardens, HOST lets kids both touch and sit on its collection of pieces.
“Kids walk out with their face painted, they have a balloon, they have a couple books, they have some toys,” Willmann said. “And hopefully, grandma and grandpa had a good time taking some pictures with them. The sculptures – with the exception of the giraffe, which is 15 feet tall – you can sit on them. You can play on them.
“It’s not like don’t touch it. It’s please touch it.”
The zoo has been around in existence since 2019 and is part of HOST’s wider collection of sculptures around town. Willmann said grandparents day helps increase awareness of the trust, which is important because the sculptures are funded by private donations.
“I think it also creates some visibility for HOST,” he explained. “So we have two dozen sculptures around town. Some of them change, they rotate. Some of them are permanent. But I think one of things that people don’t appreciate is the borough does not pay for HOST. It does not pay for the sculptures. We’re the beneficiaries of a lot of very generous people who are willing to support the idea of public art …
“It creates a little bit of momentum for the organization generally.”
HOST tries to add a new sculpture to the garden every year, based on choices gleaned from children at grandparents day. Last year’s baby tiger addition cost about $20,000.
