Waldinger participates in Library Tour

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The Henry Waldinger Memorial Library is joining a countywide effort to spice up the summer by inviting residents to participate in the 2019 Nassau Library Tour challenge.

All but two of the county’s 54 libraries will be taking part in what amounts to a scavenger hunt. “We’re really just trying to have people experience the beautiful public libraries in Nassau County,” said Renee McGrath, manager of youth services for the Nassau Library System.

The challenge asks participants to visit as many libraries in the county as possible between July 1 and August 31, according to McGrath, and look for hidden items. At the Waldinger Memorial Library, for example, participants should look for a 3D printed book.

“We really feel that visiting the libraries is a great way to explore everything that Nassau County has to offer during the summer,” McGrath said. “By going on the Nassau Library Tour, I think it’s a fun, and free, way to experience everything that all the communities have to offer.”

In Valley Stream, for example, participants can use the library’s MakerSpace, complete with programmable robots and a 3D printer, and take a selfie at the library’s rocket ship. They can also receive wrist bracelets, make a rocket craft and enter a raffle for a 2019 Nassau Library Tour t-shirt.

Eng said she several people have already made their way to the library, some of whom came from as far away as Massapequa and Oyster Bay. “We are finding that young people are having a good time going around,” she said. “We’re pretty excited about it.”

Participants of the challenge may start at any of the county’s libraries, according to McGrath, and receive a map to take with them as they travel from town to town.

If they visit five libraries, they will receive a temporary tattoo prize, while adults who reach 15 libraries receive a car magnet, and children will receive special stickers. When 30 libraries are ticked off, participants will receive soda can koozies, and after 45, adults will get enamel tour pins, and children will receive astronaut helmets.

In addition, participants who visit 45 libraries will be entered into a raffle to receive grand prizes, including museum passes and restaurant gift cards. The raffle winners will be drawn in early September.

“The prizes are just a little inspiration and incentive, but it’s not the main focus of it,” McGrath said. “It really is the experience that you can design yourself.”

Each library will also have its own scavenger hunt item for participants to find. “You can go around at each library, you can find the item that they’ve designated as their unique item to find, you can take a selfie with it and then maybe put it on social media and hashtag Nassau Library Tour,” she said.

At the Waldinger Memorial Library, participants should look for a 3D printed book.

Anyone can participate in the challenge, McGrath said, and participants do not need to have cards for all the libraries in order to have them marked off their challenge maps.