Old Bridge, NJ – June 17, 2019 – The Old Bridge Library’s annual summer reading kick-off event will be held on Saturday, June 29th with crafts and activities for families from 11-2pm, including a Story Walk around the Municipal Complex. With the theme of “A Universe of Stories,” this year’s program will help inspire children of all ages to dream big, believe in themselves, and create their own story. It will run through August 18th.
The kick-off event will feature a Mad Science Up, Up and Away into Space! program at 11am, which opens up the fantastic world of space and flight. This engaging, family science program will feature floating planets, rockets and a hovercraft. Once again, Friendly’s of Old Bridge will be on site beginning at noon, offering free ice cream while supplies last.
Participants can sign up for the summer reading program during the kick-off event and will learn how to win prizes. By following action boxes on a game board, kids can receive raffle tickets to be entered into weekly prize drawings for games, building sets and space-themed items. Tickets can be earned by reading, attending Library programs and playing outside, among other activities. For every five squares completed, children will get a small prize. Adults will have opportunities to enter weekly prize raffles based on their participation (reading and program attendance), and a grand prize will be awarded at the conclusion of the program in August.
During the summer, the Library will also be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the moon landing, hosting an Out of this World Magic Show on Sun. July 28th, a visit by a NASA Solar System Ambassador, and many more space-related activities.
“The importance of summer learning programs is well-established, and preventing ‘summer slide’ continues to be our main objective, as we offer activities that engage kids,” noted Youth Services Supervisor Pham Condello. “Studies demonstrate that students who participate in summer reading programs scored higher on reading achievement tests at the beginning of the next school year than those who did not.”
The Library’s ongoing summer programs include Reading and Math Buddies, which help kids in grades 1-5 to improve their basic skills and boost their self-confidence. Children are paired up with a Teen Buddy for one-on-one mentoring and individual help. The popular Crazy8s math program, a recreational club that gets kids excited about math, will also be available, giving kids the chance to build glow-in-the-dark structures, crack secret spy codes and play get-up-and-move games like Toilet Paper Olympics. Patrons are encouraged to check the Library’s website — www.oldbridgelibrary.org – for further details, and a complete, up-to-date schedule.
The Old Bridge Public Library has consistently been voted one of the three Best Public Libraries in Middlesex County by the readers of the Home News Tribune. The Library is open seven-days-a-week and is located at 1 Old Bridge Plaza at the corner of Rt. 516 and Cottrell Road in the Municipal Center. More information about this and other Library programs is available at www.oldbridgelibrary.org or by calling 732-721-5600 x5033. The satellite Laurence Harbor branch is located at 277 Shoreland Circle; phone: 732-566-2227.
###
