Libraries Rock!
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Anticipation filled the air. Excited chatter could be heard throughout the library as a group of 30 children gathered around the indoor green gazebo in the children’s section of the Monongahela Area Library. They were thrilled to be going back in time!
Last summer, the Monongahela Area Library conducted 31 programs as part of their Summer Reading program. Many of the topics focused on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning. The children were especially excited about the Dinosaur Party featuring Dr. Elizabeth Rhenberg, a geology professor from the University of Tennessee.
Among the children listening raptly as Dr. Rhenberg talked about dinosaur bones and other fossils was a giddy little girl clutching a large Ziploc bag to her chest. Dr. Rhenberg was intrigued. What could be inside?
After the presentation was over, the little girl confidently walked up to Dr. Rhenberg. She placed the mysterious plastic bag on the table, revealing that its contents were her most prized possession, and she wanted to know more. Dr. Rhenberg could not help but smile. It was a rock collection!
Piece by piece, the duo worked their way through the rocks in the bag. With every identification, the little girl’s eyes grew wide with admiration.
When the bag was empty, the little girl proudly told Dr. Rhenberg she wanted to be a geologist. The girl’s mother was so grateful that the library had provided her daughter with this extraordinary opportunity that really “rocked her world!”
