Moapa Library Kicks Off Summer Reading Program

By STEPHANIE BUNKER

Moapa Valley Progress

It was a great time for kids at the Moapa Library on Saturday morning, June 3. As a kick off to its Club Read summer program, the library was open for kids to spend the morning engaging in a variety of activities.

The Summer Club Read program began on June 1 and will continue until July 31.
“I like to do something to encourage the kids to come to the library and have some fun,” said Moapa librarian Jan Johnson.

Johnson started things off with sand art, which was actually colored salt being glued to paper plates. There were a lot of creative and colorful designs made on the plates.
Then the kids went outside to play with bubble snakes. This creative device consisted of a water bottle with the end cut off. A sock soaked in bubble solution was wrapped around the outside. The kids blow through the water bottle and out comes millions of small bubbles that stick together in a tubular shape. This process yielded long bubble snakes, short snakes and fat snakes. It was a crowd favorite.

Then the kids got to wash the bubbles off in the nearby splash pad at Moapa park.
The next activity was the color war. Johnson spent a lot of time preparing color powder and the kids took a cup of the powder and threw it at each other painting fun colors all over their bodies. Once again the color was washed off in the splash pad after the activity.
Snacks were provided to the kids to munch on throughout the activity. Johnson had cookies, vegetables, and drinks.

Natalie Staheli took her family to the library program and said that she enjoys these events. “Jan let’s me bring all my kids and doesn’t mind the craziness!” Staheli said.
Johnson has many fun activities planned for the kids this summer. There will always be something for the kids to play with at the library. She organized her activities around the STEAM program which includes Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math.
“The whole library district is featuring the STEAM program so I wanted to do some things that were creative and hands on,” Johnson said.

Johnson came up with ‘instant STEAM kits’ which are boxes filled with different combinations of craft items for kids to build a structure. For example kits offer things like a bag of marshmallows and toothpicks, straws and pipe cleaners, buttons and strings, and Popsicle sticks and puff balls. She encourages kids to come in and build whatever they can invent from the materials.

Throughout the summer there will be a series of different programs hosted at the Moapa Library including the Fratello Marionette group to come on Wednesday June 21 at 8:30. A Skit named “The Return of Elephant and Piggie!” to come on Wednesday July 5 at 10:30. Also Making Magic with Adam London on Thursday July 13 at 10:00.
“I want people to feel welcome at the library,” said Johnson. She added that she loves to see families playing and bonding together in the library facility.