Summer Reading Program Begins With Science Experiment-Filled Story

Last Wednesday, June 8, was the first event for the summer reading program at the Fayette Public Library. Entitled “Science Tellers: Pirates Lost at Sea,” this event was a pirate-themed storytime narrated by a science educator with various experiments mixed in throughout to highlight important plot points.

Lesley Roesler, a parent of two kids participating in this year’s summer reading program, says, “Coming from a school teacher, I know that (the love of reading) is so important because they’re going onto the next grade level. You want to keep them reading so that they can be ready for the next school year.”

At the beginning of the story, the narrator turned a glass bottle full of water upside down, covered by a piece of plastic–of which she let go as soon as the bottle turned–to model suction and cohesion. For another experiment, she brought up two helpers from the crowd to help her pump air into a two-liter bottle with a portable air pump in order to imitate cloud and storm formation. Near the end of the story, the narrator used a hair dryer and a roll of toilet paper to mimic strong winds, blowing the roll towards new helpers from the crowd who attempted to catch the paper.

“I love that more libraries are starting to do this and have performers, especially in science,” Dorci, the narrator, says, “so then kids aren’t scared of science and want to try something at home, or get more involved in school!”

With most kids out of school for the summer, events like this one are especially helpful in keeping them entertained, as well as engaged educationally. Typically, the Fayette Public Library starts planning summer programs as early as November the fall prior, which seems quite early considering these events won’t be occurring for another 7 months. But upon seeing the massive turnouts and avid participation from the kids each week, it’s definitely worth the extra time for the library staff.

Allison MacKenzie, the library director, says, “It’s really important for us to make reading fun for the kids over the summer and for them to continue learning and exploring new ideas while they’re not in school.”

The next program is Wednesday at 10:15 a.m. at the library and called “Crocodile Encounter.”