Children’s zoo asks LPS first-graders to name new giraffe

Lincoln Public Schools first-grade students have been given a tall order: Name the 14-month-old female giraffe that was delivered to the Lincoln Children’s Zoo on Tuesday afternoon.

The giraffe is one of three that will eventually call Lincoln home, with the other two arriving on separate days during the coming week. This marks the first time the Lincoln Children’s Zoo has hosted giraffes. The public can meet them in May when the zoo’s expansion project is complete. In the meantime, one of the giraffes still needs a name.

That’s where LPS gets involved. For the next week, first-graders are able to take home a ballot and bring it back with their suggested name for the giraffe. Sometime the week of Sept. 24, zoo officials will gather all of the ballots from all of the schools and choose a winning name.

LPS K-12 Science Curriculum Specialist James Blake said zoo officials contacted LPS with the idea and offered to supply all of the necessary materials - posters, ballots, ballot boxes. Besides it being an exciting experience, first-grade students are currently learning about animals - including giraffes.

“When you have 3,000 students at a grade level, you want to make sure it’s not only engaging, which we knew this would be, but that it be focused and have a curriculum connection,” Blake said.

The yet-to-be-named giraffe comes to the Lincoln Children’s Zoo from Como Park Zoo in St. Paul, Minn. She’s expected to live more than 20 years and grow from 700 pounds to nearly 2,000, and from 10 feet tall to 18.

Lincoln Children’s Zoo President/CEO John Chapo, speaking moments before the giraffe arrived on Tuesday, said he’s thrilled that LPS first-grade students can play a major role in such a historic event - the zoo’s first giraffes.

“Today, Lincoln, Nebraska is making history.”

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