With students off from school during two weeks of March break, the Yellowknife Public Library has been getting ready to provide some vacation fun for families.
We Are Going on Safari is a new program featuring six unique stations, each with a different theme.
The experience is set run from March 13-21. Families can come any time the library is open throughout the day during that stretch.
“We’re going on safari here at the library. It’s for children and their families, ages three to eight years old, maximum of six children per group,” said library technician Kris Solowy. “They’re going to read a storybook together as a family, maybe a couple of story books, and then we have a little craft bag for them to do at each station.”
The crafts include flowers and animals that the children will see throughout the program.
The themes for the stations include Jungle Jumble, The Giant Grays, Take Flight with Birds, Stripes and Spots featuring giraffes and zebras, The Big Cats and Monkeying Around.
In addition to the themed stations, there is a photo booth on site.
“One of our staff has made a lovely jeep for them to pretend that they’re actually driving out on their safari,” Solowy said.
Throughout the week, staff will be dressing in costumes, adding to the fun and immersive experience.
Once the children have completed all the stations, Solowy said they can take their crafts home and enter a draw for a gift certificate to Yellowknife Books, formerly known as Yellowknife Book Cellar.
The library program is able to expand thanks to extra funding from the NWT Literacy Council, which provided the gift certificates. The funding also allowed the library to add two days of “March Break Madness Family Game Program,” a program that makes board games and card games the focal point, from March 19 to 21.
“There’s been a lot of staff time involved, very dedicated staff members who have done it. We have absolutely wonderful, creative staff members here who’ve sort of taken my idea and just run with it,” Solowy said. “You don’t have to register for the program. If one of the stations is already in use, we just put them to the next station and then they come back to one of the stations that they’ve missed along the way.”
Despite the potential increase in noise levels, Solowy believes the program will be beneficial.
“The library is going to be a little noisy for the week, but I think it’s beneficial to the library that we draw families into the library and let them know it’s a wonderful place to come with their children,” she said. “And also the benefits are there for literacy, because we are adding the component of you have to read at least a book at one of each of the stations. So we’re promoting early literacy and that, with our program as well… and libraries are becoming more and more of a gathering place.”