July 3rd....The Day The Zoo Animals Will Visit The Library and Encourage All Of Us To Read

What a FUN way to spend a day in the summer....at the Blank Park Zoo!  It has always been one of my favorite things to do with my little people.  

Last week, we went to the zoo for the day.  When we were leaving, I saw my friend Mallory Machir.    She graduated from Van Meter School a few years ago and is now an Animal Presenter at the Blank Park Zoo.  Mallory was telling me that she just had returned from visiting a public library with a few animals.  I was so excited to hear about this program and asked her to send me more information.  

As we left the zoo, I thought of all kinds of ideas on how we could incorporate a zoo animal visit into the Van Meter Public Library Summer Reading Program and the Van Meter School Summer Reading eBook Program!  

This is what I found out about the program when I looked online....

The Blank Park Zoo Summer Library Programs "encourages children's imaginations to come alive by inviting some real zoo animals to the library this summer." 

There are several different programs that you can choose from on the website.  I thought the "Show and Tell" program sounded perfect.  When I spoke with Samantha Dunn, who is in charge of the Summer Library Program, she agreed and helped me pick four animals from the zoo would be visiting our public library. 

We decided on an owl, baby alligator, ferret, and tarantula.   

 If they are having an off-day, then we might have a turtle or a gecko instead.

On July 3rd at 2:00pm, Mallory and the animals will be visiting the public library in Van Meter.  The kids who have been participating in the summer reading programs and others will be so excited. 

When I visited Jolena and Vickie at the library this afternoon, we talked about getting a few books and eBooks about the zoo animals that would be visiting.  This would be the perfect connection to both summer library programs.  And it would also encourage them to read more while learning so many amazing facts.  

Riley, my niece, Hagan, Brianna and I visited Barnes & Noble this afternoon and found three new books about the zoo animals that will be coming to the library.  I will take these down to the public library tomorrow so all of the kids can look at them when they are visiting the library over the next few weeks.  

And having the animals visit the library is also a GREAT connection to the nonfiction eBooks we have in our collection and to the Summer eBook Reading Program we are doing through the school library.

Today, I ordered several new eBooks to add to our Mackin VIA so all of the kids can read and learn about the different zoo animals coming to visit.  These eBooks can be viewed simultaneously, 24/7 from various devices and platforms.

I created a new Group within VIA called "Summer Zoo Visit to the Van Meter Library" and found two eBooks we currently have that contained a few things about alligators and turtles.  The new eBooks will also go into this Group.

Jolena, Vickie and I are going to have a blast encouraging and promoting the kids in Van Meter to take in all they can about the zoo animals before they come to our town.  They will also be able to record this time reading in the print book and eBooks on their summer reading logs.

It is going to be an exciting month!  I can't wait to learn more about the zoo animals!

And what a fun way to have the zoo come to us for a day, too.

To learn more about the Blank Park Zoo's Summer Library Programs, you can contact Samantha Dunn at 515-974-2559 or by email at sjdunn@blankpartzoo.org