The end of the school year is just around the corner and the upcoming summer activities planned at the various branches of Highland County District Library are designed to be “fun for the whole family,” according to Hillsboro Branch Circulation Manager Sarah Davidson. She said that the programs will include not only indoor, but outdoor activities, such as a rocket launching program in conjunction with the Cincinnati Observatory.
“While there are definitely some activities that are geared for more specific age groups, the overall goal is to have programs that are fun for the whole family,” Davidson said.
Some of the activities that are age inclusive, according to Davidson, are the Library Comic Con, a popular returning annual event, and a shark cart with Newport Aquarium that Davidson described as, “a really engaging experience for patrons of all ages.”
“Through a live shark encounter,” Davidson said, “patrons can learn more about aquatic life.” She said the event is held after hours and preregistration is required.
Davidson said that the Summer Reading Program topics served as the impetus for the multiple hands-on public events.
“Our goal throughout the year is to provide fun, engaging activities,” Davidson said, for patrons to learn and interact with each other and their communities. “But summer is the library’s time to go all out as we have yearly Summer Reading themes for inspiration.”
Teens and adults who sign up for the Summer Reading Program, explained Davidson, can enter to win chances to win prizes, She said that each book read equals a chance in a weekly drawing and explained that, “Prizes up for grabs include King’s Island passes, Young’s Dairy Fun pass, a family pass to Carillon Historical Park, Star Cinemas movie passes, and Coney Island tickets, just to name a few.”
Davidson said that, “We at the Highland County District Library are so grateful to all of our sponsors for this year’s Summer Reading Program. Davidson said that because of the generosity of the sponsors, the library is able to offer all of these fun activities and prizes to our communities.
Davidson listed some of the activities for kids as Mini Golf Night, Pirate Party, and Mermaid Night.
Davidson said that, in addition to the children’s activities, the library will be hosting other events geared more towards teens and adults. Those will include, “an Atlantis-themed escape room, an Abraham Lincoln impersonator, and a Local Author Night.”
Davidson said the escape room is a particularly challenging new endeavor. “This is the first time we’ve tried anything like this,” she said.
For a complete list of activities planned at the library, including times, dates and locations, access its Facebook page or its website at www.highlandcolibrary.org.
Juliane Cartaino is a stringer for The Times-Gazette.
