Summer Adventure Scavenger Hunt
The Children’s Department’s unofficial mascot, Michu Michu, traveled around the library this summer. Michu wasn’t alone, though. His friend Library Mouse came along for the ride! Michu Michu and Library Mouse wanted to learn more about the special spaces and collections at the library.
Stop by the Children’s Services Desk and pick up a scavenger hunt sheet with photos of some of the stops they made along their journey. Once you find all the locations, return your sheet to the desk for a sticker and earn a point toward your Summer Adventure!
One of the places they visited was the library’s vinyl record and record player collection, to the left of the 2nd Floor Service Desk. The record players can be checked out for two weeks, and the vinyl records can be checked out for three weeks. There are also plastic cases that can be checked out to carry and protect the records.
Library Mouse heard the library has a garden roof on the building, and he wanted to see it. Michu Michu told him that you could see it from the 2nd floor, so while they were there, they asked a librarian where to go to see the garden. They were so close! They only had to walk past the desk and a huge room with lots of glass to see the garden roof. The garden roof is on every top part of the building and measures 40,650 square feet! The garden did need a little help the first year or so but now takes care of itself. The plants are Sedums and come in many varieties and colors. They are unique because they can withstand drought and help to keep the building cooler in the summer.
Sheehan Nagle Hartray
I told Michu Michu about the new audio art tour, thinking they might want to learn more about some art featured throughout the library building. Many of the recordings are from the artists themselves, describing their artwork and how they made them. You will need to download a free app called Otocast, available for both Apple & Android. You can listen to the tour in the library or from home. You can also use the app to access other public art tours from around the country.
We have a unique and valuable service just outside the door of our library that serves our community. It is a Micro Pantry designed, built and donated by a father and daughter, Scott Silmon and Ashley Silmon-Rodriguez. This pantry is taken care of by the community it serves and works on a policy of “take what you need, leave what you can.” No library money goes into supplying items for the pantry. The community has been relying on the pantry more and more in recent years, and many caring community members have been regularly donating to it.
Next, I reminded them to ride in the elevator to the lower level to see all the fun things they could do in Studio 300. Studio 300 is our 7,000-square-foot digital media center where you can record videos, music and podcasts. They also have the Maker Lab with all sorts of equipment to design and make things. You can take home some of the equipment from Studio 300, and their computers have up-to-date media software from brands like Adobe.
While on the lower level, you should also visit the Friend’s Book Cellar. They are open Tuesdays, 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m.; Thursdays, 4–8 p.m. and Sundays, 1–5 p.m. They have many used items for sale, including books for kids and adults, movies and music. And all the money goes back into helping the library!
Stop by the Children’s Services Desk from June 4 to July 31 to pick up your Scavenger Hunt sheet. Once you complete the activity, return your sheet to the desk to receive a sticker and earn a point.