By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Summer is almost here, bringing with it warmer weather, cookouts and summer vacations.
It also means the return of a perennial Hays favorite, the Hays Public Library Summer Reading Challenge, along with a plethora of other summer events.
“We tend to be pretty busy over the summertime, and we're excited for another summer challenge,” said Hays Public Library communications coordinator Callie Kolacny. “The theme this year is Oceans of Possibilities.”
She said the nationwide theme would be especially interesting for the young participants as they explore a landscape far removed from the high plains.
Registration is underway now and can be completed in person or online through the Beanstack app.
“We're doing Beanstack again, and that's where you'll log all your activities, your reading time and all of that stuff,” Kolacny said.
For those without access to a computer at home, the library will assist in making sure anyone who wants to participate is able to do so, she said.
Information about the app and the challenge is available on the Hays Public Library website, Kolacny said.
“It's an easy way to keep track of how everybody's doing, and you can, as you reach milestones with the logging you're reading, then the kids earn tickets,” she said. “And those tickets are all electronic through Beanstack. And you can put them into whichever end of the season prize drawing that you want.”
The end of the challenge will have “lots of great prizes,” she said, but there is also a registration gift for those who sign up.
Adults can also get in on the action, as the library hosts an adult Summer Reading Challenge as well.
Rather than use the app, the adult challenge will use bookmarks and have 10 challenges that need to be completed for credit.
“And then at the end, when they get them all done, then fill out the information on them and turn them in and put them for again, whichever prize that they want at the end of the challenge drawing,” Kolacny said.
The bookmarks will be available on May 23, when the challenges officially begin, with a full day of events planned to celebrate the kickoff.
“The 23rd is when we will start counting all of the logins and all of your reading time and stuff like that,” Kolacny said. “That will start on the 23rd, but you don't have to be at the kickoff party or anything, but if you want to come, we're going to have a day full of activities. It'll be a lot of fun.”
The launch party is set to run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“One of the amazing things that we've got going on, on that day is award-winning children's author Kevin Kurtz will read for storytime at 10 a.m.,” Kolacny said. “He has written a whole bunch of nonfiction books for children, and he'll be reading one of his books during storytime.”
Then at 1 p.m., he will present information about his experience as an educational officer on the research vessel, the JOIDES Resolution, in conjunction with Sternberg Museum.
“We're going to have a display at the library as well with all kinds of information about the JOIDES Resolution and the science experiments and things that they did,” Kolacny said. “He traveled with the international team of scientists during the expedition where he spent eight weeks at sea in the South Pacific, so he'll be talking about that experience.”
Along with the challenges, the library will again offer programs geared toward children throughout the summer.
“We'll have lots of special things,” Kolacny said. “We'll still have Snake Day and all of those kinds of fun things like Zoo to You.”
“One of the programs we'll have, and this will be a weekday program, Little Oceanographers, we always have to come up with the title that fits with the theme,” she said. “That'll be weekdays at 10:30 a.m.”
Details on other summer activities are being finalized, including reading review programs and more.