Rapid City Libraries will host ANIMAL ARCHITECTS
     Traveling Exhibit
Art Exploration Event for Kids August 1-26

By Leanna Martinez, Library Associate

“Come into my parlor,” said the spider to the fly. Do spiders have parlors? Why do beavers build dams? Why do moles burrow underground?

August 1-26, visitors to both locations of the Rapid City Public Library can learn the answers to these questions and more through the Hands-On Partnership (HOP) Exhibit: Animals As Architects. Wednesday August 6 will bring an opportunity for youth to explore the elements of art in an animal’s home through the medium of play-dough. Youth are invited to join a librarian to create the spiral of a snail shell; build a beaver dam; and construct a honeycomb, a coral reef and more. Two sessions will be available for youth participants. The first session will be held at RCPL-Downtown at 610 Quincy (meeting room B-upstairs) from 10:00-11:00 AM. The second session will be held at RCPL-North at 10 Van Buren St (General Beadle School commons) from 1:30-2:30 PM. All youth are welcome to participate.

At the ‘A-a-A’ exhibit, visitors will learn animals are amazing architects that reveal different behaviors and physical traits that help them adapt to their environment and survive as a species. Animals burrow, weave, shape and sculpt to create their comfortable, secure homes from resources they find in their surroundings. Animals as Architects introduces visitors to these animal craftsmen who work without blueprints, tape measures or T-squares.

What hands-on experiences can be anticipated? Visitors can build a nest with foam tubes; it’s big enough to sit in! Create a spider’s web out of loops and pegs or do a crayon rubbing of a spider web to take home. Explore the insides of a five foot model of an African termite mound and discover the underground structures of a prairie dog town with a giant floor puzzle.

If you would like to get a head start reading and learning about animal homes, here are a few of the titles and items available at the Rapid City Public Library:
Children’s Nonfiction:
Whose House Is This?: a look at animal homes-webs, nests, and shells, Elizabeth Gregoire;
How Mammals Build Their Amazing Homes, W. Wright Robinson; and
A First Book About Animal Homes, Nicola Tuxworth
Children’s Fiction:
The Mayor of Central Park, Avi;
Gregor and the Marks of Secret, Suzanne Collins;
The Diary of a Killer Cat, Anne Fine;
Dolphins at Daybreak, Mary Pope Osborne; and
Whittington, Alan Armstrong
Children’s DVD:
Best of Backyard Habitat, The Ant Bully, Habitats of the World; Biotrackers: Explore habitats of the world!; All About Bug; and March of the Penguins
Children’s Magazines:
Wild Animal Baby; Ranger Rick; Your Big Backyard; National Geographic Kids
Adult Nonfiction:
Ranch of Dreams, Cleveland Amory;
Jungle Bugs: masters of camouflage and mimicry, Bruce Purser;
The Wolf: ghost hunter, Daniel Leboeuf; and
Animal Babies: a havitat-by-habitat guide to how wild animals grow, Steve Parker
Adult Fiction:
Mewingham Manor: observations on a curious new species, Edwina Von Stetina;
Creature Cozies, Jill M. Morgan;
The Book of the Dun Cow, Walter Wangerin; and
Gould’s Book of Fish: a novel in twelve fish, Richard Flanagan
Adult Audio-Visual:
Animal-Speak, Ted Andrews;
When Elephants Weep, Jeffrey Masson;
The World Without Us, Alan Weisman;
DVD:
Meerkat Manor; Dog Whisperer; and Planet Earth.
Adult Magazines:
South Dakota Conservation Digest; In-fisherman; and Nature Conservancy

The Hands On Partnership is sponsored by the SD State Library, SD Discovery Center, Dahl Arts Center, Rawlins Municipal Library, the SD School of Mines & Technology, and grant funding provided by The Institute of Museum & Library Services. A variety of traveling exhibits are available to public and school libraries throughout South Dakota. Think of these exhibits as an easy-to-assemble, traveling field trip that brings science and art to the community. Geared for children preschool-6th graders, parents, caregivers and teachers, visitor have the chance to participate in themed, hands-on, educational activities. Each exhibit contains a science, an art, and a literature teaching kit. The literature kits include collections of books in a wide-variety of reading levels plus other items to enhance the telling of the stories. Each art kit contains authentic works of art and the art activities that allow kids to create their own theme-inspired art. The science kits provide hands-on science experiments and activities that feed the curiosity produced by the exhibit. Libraries may use all or portions of the exhibits to meet the needs of the community. Currently, HOP features four traveling exhibits: Light & Color, Dinostories, Bug’s Eye View, and the exhibit soon to be at Rapid City Libraries Animals As Architects.

Want to know more about HOP and the NEW exhibit that will be on the road in 2009? Visit the website at www.hop-sd.org; learn how to bring HOP to your community. Want to know more about programs at the Rapid City Public Libraries? Visit us at www.rapidcitylibrary.org or call 394-4171.