The community engagement project described in this article took the form of the re-invention and re-interpretation of a historic symbol (Diana the elephant) on the Potchefstroom Campus of North-West University (NWU), South Africa. In 2015, the Faculty of Education Sciences invited staff and students to reinterpret the elephant (a symbol of education, longevity, wisdom, care, stamina, memory) in a new and more multicultural, multilingual, inclusive and environmentally conscious South Africa. The participatory process described, and the related outcomes, involved learning by students and academics across disciplines (the conceptualisation, design, engineering and creation of the structure) and collaboration between academics, children and adults from the community, all with a strong service-learning dimension in relation to teacher education.