Recap of Recaps: January 17–January 24

Submitted by Joanie Goforth

Please take a moment to check out these recaps from some amazing programs that took place across the system between January 17–January 24:

Patrons made corn husk dolls at
Hands-On History–Pioneer Days

Young artists rendered Chengdu the panda at Illustrators Academy

Bookmobile visitors made a winter craft at Pine Ridge

Hands-On History–Pioneer Days at Cumming Library 

58 children, 26 adults

"Many came dressed up for Pioneer Days, with one little girl sporting a prairie dress that her grandmother hand made her just for this program! To start, I gave a timeline of things going on in the world, and a map of trails heading west for context. Then, it was time to pack our wagons and set off! Using my fellow YS Holly’s idea from a past American Girl History Book club, I taped off a 4’x10’ rectangle reflecting the size of a prairie schooner wagon and asked participants what they would bring in a covered wagon. For each item they mentioned, I shared some facts about the use of the items in that time period, and if I had one, brought out a physical example to add to our wagon. My favorite item suggested was

"A fridge." I had to break it to him that fridges hadn't been invented, but it was a great segue into telling them about methods of food preservation they used! Some of the activities were making a paper bonnet and paper coonskin cap, assembling a paper quilt square, and making a cornhusk doll. We had jump ropes (which were well used!), marbles, a cup and ball toy, checkers, a ball, carpet square hopscotch, and our intern Sadie made a few thaumatrope and button buzz saw toys which were very cool."–hosted by Kaity Bowers

Illustrators Academy at Hampton Park Library

16 children, 4 adults

"For this month's Illustrators Academy, we broke out the chalk pastels for a guided drawing. I began by reading Chengdu Could Not, Would Not Fall Asleep by Barney Saltzberg. This story was relatable to all of us, and had a very funny ending. Next, I led a guided drawing exercise of a panda on a branch, just like Chengdu in the story. The kids did a great job following directions, and all of them had their own unique panda by the end of the program. Before we left I put on Zoo Atlanta's Panda Cam while I walked around and sprayed their drawings with hairspray to set the chalk. Unfortunately, the pandas seemed to be just off screen, but we could see some bamboo moving!” –hosted by Kayla Bolton

Investigating Blood Spatter at Post Road Library

33 adults

"UNG assistant professor Dr. Hager once again put on a successful program about blood spatter. I stood at the door as patrons came in and, as Dr. Hager had requested, I told each patron that they would be seeing actual crime scene photos during the program. The patrons' responses were interesting. One said, "Oh, COOL!" and another said, "No big deal, I watch Dexter." Dr. Hager's presentation kept the patrons enthralled as he talked about how much a crime scene investigator can learn from both the presence and also the absence of blood spatter. When the presentation was over, Dr. Hager took questions from the patrons, and I think they would have asked questions for hours if we would have let them. One patron is writing a murder mystery and asked questions about how a crime scene is handled and the timeline that would be followed so he can write about it accurately.” –hosted by Melissa Reed

True Crime Trivia Night at Sharon Forks Library

19 adults

"We had a great turnout for tonight's true crime trivia! The categories were: The Devil Went Down to Georgia (Georgia killers), Serial Killers, Femme Fatales (Female Killers), Historical Crimes, and Literary Crimes. I prepared a Double Jeopardy with silly categories including Florida Man, Forensic Science, and Animals on Trial, to end on a happy note, plus a Final Jeopardy in case we had a tie. Our teams were “How I Met Your Murderer”,” The Unthinkables”, “Clouseau”, “Whodunits", “Blood Hunters”, and “The Crime Hunters.” Before we started, I went over the rules with everyone and told everyone that we had only two goals tonight: 1) to have fun and 2) to learn something new. Despite a few bumps along the way, everyone seemed to enjoy it and we had a lively crowd. The “Whodunits” were the winning team with 2,600 points with the “Unthinkables” trailing with 1,400 and “How I Met Your Murderer” with 1,100. I spoke with a few patrons afterwards who all said they had fun and would like to see more trivia nights in the future. One patron asked if I could do one next week! All in all, it was a great night for trivia and I know our patrons learned a lot about crimes, forensic science, and history!” –hosted by Jessica Doss

Outreach Bookmobile Stop at Pine Ridge

29 visitors

“The Outreach staff has navigated some interesting weather this week. We've had days where the temperature was 12 degrees; thank goodness for heat on the bookmobile and foggy, rainy days. On Tuesday, Kandy and I ventured out to Pine Ridge manufactured housing community, which is home to a large Latino population. We recently added a new stop in the back of the community. We have been visiting Pine Ridge for 3 years but had just one stop at the main office. Driving to the new location is an adventure. Navigating around deteriorating speed bumps and dodging various pot holes in a 36 foot vehicle can be challenging, but it's all for the children. Safely at our destination next to a playground, Kandy and I eagerly waited for the elementary bus to drop off the children. Our first visitors enjoyed our monthly “make-your-own-snowflake” craft. The boys hung out for a while and made special book requests for our visit in February. We had several new visitors, which is always so exciting for the Outreach team. The families enjoyed hanging out, browsing the collection, and chatting with Kandy and me. We can't wait to see how this stop grows.” –contributed by Lorraine Lane