As July hurries to a close, libraries in Dolores, Mancos and Cortez are concluding their paleontology- and archaeology-themed programming, which staff say brought excited kids of all ages to these cherished public institutions.
“The kids have loved it,” Hannah Carloni of the Dolores Public Library said. “We've had hundreds of participants in our programs.”
The Dolores, Mancos and Cortez public libraries participated in the “Unearth a Story” theme of the Collaborative Summer Library Program, which invited libraries across the nation to explore the past with their patrons under a colorful dinosaur theme.
Over the past two months, kids flocked to the Dolores Public Library every Friday to participate in various activities like owl pellet dissection, chocolate chip cookie excavation and a show and tell from the 4 Corners Worm Farm to inspire interest in the history of the natural world.
Monday storytimes, led by Carloni, centered around animals who existed alongside or descended from dinosaurs.
“This is the same earth dinosaurs roamed on. That’s cool for them,” Carloni said.
Young participants in the Dolores Public Library’s summer reading program spent June and July logging their reading hours for the dinosaur-themed bash on Friday which will include mini golf and free books starting at 5 p.m.
Also engaging kids is a 23-foot-long resin replica of a tyrannosaur skeleton right in the center of Cortez Public Library. The exact fossil model is that of a Teratophoneus, a carnivorous dinosaur that dwelled in Utah around 75 million years ago. His name is “Dewey Reximal,” which Cortez Public Library staff selected after more than 130 submissions were received in their suggestion box.
“This resin copy is actually the same exact copy that is featured in the movie, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” Library Director LeRoy Harris said. “It's at the end of the movie, when they're in the rich geneticist’s house, and there's the genetically modified raptor chasing them through his specimen hall.”
This replica made a strange journey: across the Atlantic to film the movie in Britain, then all the way back again. Its owner, Colorado paleontologist John Hankla, donated it to the library through the month of July. He will be speaking about the fossil as well as other dinosaurs that once roamed the earth at the library at 3 p.m. Friday as kids turn in their summer reading logs for prize drawings.
“We have a wonderful area for both archaeology and paleontology and so we're very happy to feature those things because they’re things that people can really get out and explore and learn a lot more of, both at the library and in the community,” Harris said.
The Mancos Public Library’s weekly Friday program from June through July featured visitors from Canyon of the Ancients Museum, Mesa Verde National Park and Crow Canyon, much to kids’ excitement.
“That’s been full every week,” Children’s Librarian Erin Bohm said. “The kids have responded really well and really love knowing more about where they live.”
Bohm said participating kids grew familiar with the visiting rangers and archaeologists, learning about the rich archaeological record of Southwest Colorado which features numerous Puebloan ruins scattered across the high desert.
Its summer reading program concludes with a bubble and foam dance party featuring a fossil display as well as T-shirt making crafts starting at 9 a.m. Friday.
The library is also working to conserve Mancos’ own archaeological record. Jenni Kitchen, the young adult service manager, set out several journals inviting Mancos residents to write about their memories of the town and its historic places, like the opera house and the high school.
“It'll be interesting for people who come in and are new to Mancos because we'll have them up on display to be read so you can find out more about what goes on here,” Kitchen said.
She is leaving the journals open through August, hoping residents recall more stories on their pages.
Staff said these unique programs are a prime opportunity for community engagement with libraries.
“I think that the investment in growing the patron population of a library really comes from the youth programming success because that is a very powerful – could be lifetime – pipeline,” Bohm said.
avanderveen@the-journal.com
