YA-HOO! No School - Monday February 18 th!

By Leanna Martinez, Library Associate

A 3-day weekend and a break from textbooks is every student’s dream. (How many times did you pray for a snow day when you were a kid?) While the time off is great fun for youth, it can also be problematic for working parents or, even worse, bored kids. The solution? Let Rapid City Library be your student’s boredom buster through the DISCOVERY DAYS program.

Designed for youth from the fourth to the eighth grades (those too old for daycare and too young for a job), DISCOVERY DAYS are scheduled when the Rapid City Area Schools have “no school” days. The themes for each program and event are kid oriented. For example, last October was an opportunity to try computer gaming, November was crafting with Johnnie One Feather, and January brought presentations from the Humane Society and Birds of the World.

The first DISCOVERY DAYS in February will feature Drawing Animals with South Dakota artist, Lori Harrington.
Lori grew up in eastern South Dakota where her family was engaged in sheep farming. When Lori was 11 years old her family moved to western South Dakota. Her education and experience is varied and includes certified beautician, drafting, and 42 years of ranching with her husband Jon. Lori has been in love with art and animals all her life and in her words, “I have taken almost every art course the Dahl has offered.” Lori’s creativity may be viewed at the Rapid City Library display area; stop in to see her brightly colored animal drawings and whimsical menagerie of paper-mâché horses.

Youth have an opportunity to ‘DISCOVER’ drawing on February 18. Lori will be at RCPL North (at the General Beadle School) from 10:30 to noon, and at RCPL Downtown 1:00-2:00. You don’t need to make an appointment; just come ready to draw animals! Drawing materials will be provided.

Drawing, paper-mâché and other art for youth can be explored and expanded through books in the library’s collection. Some titles in the children’s library include I Can Draw Animals, by Lorrie Mack; How to Draw Action Sports Figures, by Rob Court; Crafts with Paper-Mâché, by Violaine Lamérand; Using Shadows in Art, by Joy Richardson; and, Painting and Drawing, by Judy Martin. In the Young Adult collection, check out How To Draw Manga, from the Yoyogi Animation Gakuin; Cartooning for the Beginner, by Christopher Hart; or Finlay Cowan’s Drawing and Painting Fantasy Figures.
Explore what is happening in Rapid City’s Arts & Entertainment through the library’s del.icio.us page at http://del.icio.us/rcpl. At del.icio.us, you can find out about local and area theater, dance, symphony and choral offerings, museums, movies and foreign films.

If you can’t attend the February 18 DISCOVERY DAYS with Lori, there’s still good news! She will return to the library this summer to demonstrate paper-mâché techniques and help youth to decorate a paper-mâché bug during the 2008 Summer Reading Program. Watch for dates and times in the Library’s newsletter, found online at www.rapidcitylibrary.org.

Finally, mark your calendars! YA-HOO! No school Friday February 29!
That day’s DISCOVERY DAYS program will be a HIP HOP workshop with local performing and recording artist K.O.D. Join other young hip hoppers at RCPL Downtown from 1:00 – 3:00, to learn how to write, perform, and market your style.

Do you have ideas for future DISCOVERY DAYS? Submit your suggestions online at http://www.rapidcitylibrary.org/services/Ask_a_Librarian/ask_a_librarian.asp or come into the library and share your ideas with one of the librarians.

YA-HOO! No school. See you at the library!.