Recap of Recaps: March 26–April 2

Submitted by Joanie Goforth

We are so fortunate to have partners that help make our programs unique and keep our patrons engaged and excited. Here is a selection of recaps from some of the programs that took place systemwide between March 26–April 2.

Smiles all around as patrons dance together at 
Exploring Victorian Dance and Culture

Residents of the Oaks at Post Road share memories with Christine C.
during a Golden Hour about Women in History

Exploring Victorian Dance and Culture at Hampton Park Library

16 children, 30 adults

"We had a 'ball' at our Victorian Dance program! Kat from the Atlanta Historic Dance called out the steps while we first watched the dancers perform. Then she had everyone join in and learn together. It was great having multiple dancers because

they could demonstrate and lead everyone. They all interacted with the patrons to encourage the dancing and help with the steps. We started with a group introductory dance and then danced the Carolina Promenade. Next was the Waltz and everyone joined in for that as well. There were smiles on the faces of everyone attending. One couple that had come to the library to use the computers joined in the dance and really enjoyed it. A grandmother who brings her grandson to storytime came with her older elementary granddaughter. She said that this was fantastic and that we have the absolute best library system. Because the dancing involved moving around with different partners, it created community among all who were there. It was definitely a multigenerational event! Families came together, learned new dances, and really enjoyed it. One aunt videotaped some of it because she knew they were all going to want to continue to dance at home. During water breaks, the dancers walked around and showed some Victorian clothing pieces. We had a table with some bookmarks for coloring and a flower card craft and information about the language of flowers. The group also demonstrated the Quadrille, and then everyone danced the Carolina Promenade once again. We heard many compliments, and people asked if we could have them back again.” –hosted by Kelly Hollis

Digital Capture the Flag at Sharon Forks Library

18 children, 1 adult

"Three students from Alliance Academy, Aden Kallery, Rahul Balasubramanian, and Rohak Agarwal, developed a program for middle school age students on Digital Capture the Flag. Capture The Flag (CTF) is a cyber exercise where participants look for a hidden clue or file, a.k.a. the flag, by using cybersecurity tools. The game gives you a taste of real world cybersecurity with activities often designed by cyber pros. Teens had to solve a variety of puzzles, answer questions, do math, and even some basic programming in order to solve a variety of challenges on their way to capturing the "flag". Every so often, while the kids were working, one of the teens would present a short segment on a topic related to cybersecurity, for example, cryptology or open source information. While the teens were working on the challenges, the presenters walked around and answered questions, gave hints, and provided encouragement. I liked that kids were given the choice to work independently or in pairs or groups. They had a leaderboard which they would put up every thirty minutes and the middle schoolers seemed to like that.” –hosted by Amy Billings

Outreach Golden Hour at The Oaks at Post Road

7 adults

“This month's Golden Hour is about Women in History. Our seniors seem to be responding really well to this program. Residents like to share their stories and let us know when they recognize a name. One woman told me that Patsy Mink inspired her to register to vote in 1972, which I thought was amazing! We played a little "Guess Who" game at the end, as well.” –contributed by Christine Conroy

Travel and Mystery STEAM at Cumming Library 

14 children, 7 adults

“Today's program was inspired by the series “Greetings from Somewhere” by Harper Paris. In this series, a family spends a year traveling around the world while their journalist mom writes about each country for their hometown newspaper. Meanwhile Dad homeschools their twins Ella and Ethan, who manage to stumble upon a mystery everywhere they go. I highlighted six of the books in a slide presentation featuring places like Mumbai, Stonehenge, the Sphinx, Easter Island, Machu Picchu, Venice, Paris, and Alaska. Each place corresponded to a hands-on activity station connecting back to one of the mysteries. Kids used their noses to try and identify and describe 8 different spices. Kids were challenged to build their own prehistoric monument using wooden blocks, Keva planks, Lincoln Logs and other building kits. We viewed close-up images of the mosaic art inside the Basilica San Marco like in the Mystery of the Mosaic and saw images of the process of laying out the tiles in patterns and using grout to fill in the spaces between the tiles. Kids could try their hand at creating a piece of mosaic art freestyle or using a template with small paper squares. During our final stop in Alaska (The Mystery of the Icy Paw Prints), participants tested their skills at identifying Alaskan mammal tracks and created different animal tracks in pans of baking soda. I set up pans with layers of sand with buried "artifacts" to replicate an archaeological dig. Almost all copies of the series I had on display were checked out! Parents had favorable comments about the series. The children definitely enjoyed the format of background information presented followed by the opportunity to dig into the activities. The most popular stations were identifying spices, animal tracks, and the archeological dig. ” –hosted by Holly Raus

Post Road Games: A Hunger Games Inspired Escape Room at Post Road Library

10 teens

"Like other escape rooms I've done in the past, Kate and I put the wall up in the meeting room so we could accommodate more teens. Five teens went into the escape room and five stayed in the "training room", where we had activities inspired by the training room in the books as well as other activities like trivia. I did get some feedback from the teens about the training room, so I asked what they liked and didn't for future programs. They liked that it was themed, weren't interested in doing puzzles or knot tying, and they loved the trivia. Both groups enjoyed the escape room. One teen said "I was expecting this to be easy, but this is awesome!" I asked them what themes they might like next and they said Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and Star Wars.” –hosted by Erin Palmer