We are thrilled to announce the April 2026 recipient of the $10,000 Hey Helen Grant: Tamara “Mara” Henderson, CEO and founder of the Enchanted Immersive Zoological Center currently just outside Atlanta! Mara is building something that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the country – a hands-on, STEM-focused zoological center where kids and adults can actually touch, hold, and learn from live exotic animals. And once she opens her brick-and-mortar doors in 2027, it will be the only Black woman-owned zoological center in the nation.
If you’ve ever been told your idea can’t be done because nobody’s done it before, Mara is living, breathing proof that it CAN!
Mara told us her mission is “to inspire the next generation of scientists, conservationists, and explorers by bringing wildlife and STEM education to life through immersive, hands-on experiences.” She believes everyone should have access to meaningful interactions with animals that spark curiosity and deepen understanding of the natural world. And after talking with her, I can tell you she means every word of it.
The gap Mara built her whole business to fill
Here’s the thing that got me about Mara’s story. She didn’t set out to start a business but rather to fix a problem she’d lived through herself.
Mara is a ’90s baby and a homeschooler. She grew up on Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, the Crocodile Hunter, Jeff Corwin – all of it. She wanted to be the next Steve Irwin. But when she got toward the end of high school and started looking at how to actually work with animals, she hit a wall.
“When I looked at animal related jobs, in terms of volunteers, internships, and things like that, you had to either be in college and working on a career in that field or already have the career,” she told me. “And that…wasn’t gonna work for me.”
It wasn’t an aligned path for Mara because she’s a hands-on learner. Sitting in a lecture hall for hours wasn’t going to happen, and she was self-aware enough to understand this.
So instead of accepting that the door was closed, she built her own. (Is now a good time to flag that Mara is also a United States Marine, fire fighter, and EMT? Because no one can be shocked that a woman with those credentials didn’t take no for an answer!)
“I’m going to use all the learning that I have been taught over my entire school year, and I was going to design and create my own business and curriculum so that individuals who just didn’t want or didn’t have the desire or even the funding to even go to college would still be able to live out their dreams.”
That’s the whole heart of the Enchanted Immersive Zoological Center.
As Mara puts it, “no one should ever feel excluded from science because of who they are, where they come from, or the path they take.” She created an inclusive zoological center where curiosity, hands-on learning, and access matter more than a degree.
And the timing could not be better. Families are leaving traditional schools in record numbers, looking for experiential, real-world education. Mara built exactly the kind of place those families are searching for – somewhere a kid can touch a creature they’ve never encountered, look through a microscope for the first time, and feel that spark of “wait, maybe I can do this.”
What does the Enchanted Immersive Zoological Center actually do?
The center is a first-of-its-kind, STEM-focused zoological facility where wildlife fuels scientific discovery. Through hands-on animal encounters, immersive storytelling, and STEM-based lessons, learners explore biology, ecology, zoology, and conservation using scientific tools and applying real-world math through animal diets, measurements, and data collection.
In plain terms… the kids think they’re playing with animals. But they’re actually doing science 😉
I asked Mara what she’s got at the facility right now, and the list is wild (pun fully intended): birds, horses, marsupials, arachnids, snakes, and – I had to make her repeat this part – flying squirrels.
“Did you say flying squirrels?!?!” I asked.
“Yes!” she said. “And snakes, of course.”
(I’ve got to get down to see this place myself!)
This is the stuff that makes science fun for kids… well, for people of all ages. As Mara explained it, when a kid learns that a 10-gram bird needs to eat a third of its body weight, suddenly they’re doing math without even realizing it. They’re learning responsibility and conservation as they actually experience it.
None of this happened overnight.
The business has been operating for about 10 years, and Mara has spent years training her animals to be calm in everyday environments.
“Nobody wants to get bit by an animal,” she said. “We spend years taming, training, and getting our animals comfortable with being around loud noises, children, and things of that nature.”
That patience is paying off. The center now has contracts with Fayette County and Clayton County, and runs programs that regularly bring in around 200 kids at a time. Mara also runs homeschool programs and large-group events, and families return time and time again.
“They keep coming, they keep coming!” she said. “The years have gone by and people are starting to read that we exist.”
Funding the future of hands-on science
This is where the Hey Helen Grant comes in.
Right now, Mara’s interns and volunteers come to her home, where she’s dedicated two full rooms to the animals. When she has bigger volunteer and training days, she rents out facilities because she’s outgrown her own house. That’s the reality of building something this ambitious as a small, community-driven organization – one without the budgets, endowments, or corporate sponsorships that traditional zoos and museums rely on.
So receiving the $10,000 Hey Helen Grant will help significantly.
Mara wants to hire help – specifically a bird biologist and zoo workers who have the formal education to back up the incredible hands-on knowledge she’s built. She’s also working toward accreditation from the Zoological Association of America (ZAA), which signals that a facility provides exceptional care for exotic animals and opens doors with schools, colleges, universities, and scientists.
But a part that is really worth flagging the scale of what she’s trying to do for kids. With this support, Mara wants to triple her impact, going from serving 1,000 students a year to 3,000.
“As a small, growing organization, every dollar makes a meaningful impact,” she told us. The funding will expand her accessibility initiatives and scholarship programs so that cost is never the reason a kid misses out, while also strengthening animal care and letting her build even more immersive programs.
And here’s something she shared that I think is important to many small business owners also looking for grant funding: this is the very first grant the Enchanted Immersive Zoological Center has ever received.
“Having an organization like Hey Helen believe in our mission and choose to invest in our vision is both humbling and encouraging,” Mara said. “This grant is more than funding. It’s validation that the work we’re doing matters.”
Mara’s vision for the future
So what’s next?
Mara is currently planning to open the doors to a public brick-and-mortar facility in Summer/Fall of 2027. She’s eyeing three-plus acres in Fayetteville, about 30 minutes south of Atlanta, straight down 85.
And the plans are big. Horse trails. A marine area with touch tanks (Mara’s a scuba diver and marine biology lover, so this one’s extra special to her). Birds, horses, and – if the permits come through – some seriously large (and seriously cool!) animals.
“I have my heart set on a giraffe,” she told me. Otters too!
When the center opens, it will be a piece of history as the only Black woman-owned zoological center in the nation, and once Mara secures ZAA accreditation, the only facility in the state of Georgia to hold it.
“We’re breaking barriers and making history left and right,” she said. “And we’re hoping that that kind of shows to this generation and the next that it’s okay to step out of the norm.”
That’s the change Mara is committed to creating: a world where every young person feels capable, valued, and connected to the natural world. Where a kid who once felt overlooked gets to peer through a microscope, hold an animal they’ve never seen, complete a real challenge, and think, “I can do this.”
At Visionaries, getting to play even a small part in that is exactly why the Hey Helen Grant exists 🥹
One more thing (an exciting update!)
If you’ve been waiting for your moment to apply – or you’ve applied before – I have [BIG!] news.
After our August round wraps, the Hey Helen Grant is moving to a monthly cadence!!
That’s right – we’re going to be awarding $10,000 grants every single month. And because we keep your application on file for a full year, that means a *whole* lot more opportunity for applicants to win!
(Note: anyone who applies for the August round will be considered for the full year starting in August, not the month in which they actually applied.)
Interested in applying for the Hey Helen Grant?
We’re funding impact-driven businesses through our grant program, offering support in the amount of $10,000 each round — and soon, every single month!
The Hey Helen Grant is open to any 100% woman-owned, US-based, for-profit business doing less than $1M annually. Learn more about the Hey Helen Grant and start your application here.
