Infusing imagination into a month-long focus on Earth Day, the Patchogue-Medford Library is hosting Go Green Scene, a variety of hand-on activities with planet-friendly lessons.
Children and their families can head for the activity room during library hours to engage in projects, which are designed to combine fun with education.
“I think it’s very important that children understand how they can help the Earth...because they are the future. And our Earth is going to be here a very long time,” said Joyce Thompson-Haas, Youth Services Department head.
Geared to children ages 3 to sixth grade accompanied by a parent, the activities include a recycling station where they can sort recyclables (more challenging if they use a timer). “On one of our walls, there’s lyrics to recycling songs, so they can sing the song while they do the sorting,” Thompson-Haas said.
Another station features large puzzles with info on pollinators, endangered species and more, while there’s also an opportunity to get creative with reused materials, either following their inner muse or drawing an idea from a challenge card. “They might create a robot out of toilet paper tubes. They might create a sword or a flower,” she said.
A favorite is the seed library scavenger hunt, which runs through the entire children’s department. Kids are tasked with finding hidden pictures of seed packets and, if successful, get to go home with a free seed packet (lavender or calendula) from the seed library.
Rounding out Go Green Scene is an Earth Day-themed writing activity, as well as related library books.
"We've gotten great positive feedback on how interactive it is,” says Thompson-Haas.
While Go Green Scene is a first for the library, Thompson-Haas says that the activity room comes alive with a different project every month. Those interested can check out the library website on projects that run September through May.