West Hempstead Public Library hosted its first summer reading event at West Hempstead Secondary School last Sunday. Named “Unearthing a Story,” the event featured a life-sized inflatable whale with an explorable interior. The whale was provided by the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum.
The whale could not fit in the library, so Program Coordinator Roseanne Dorfman had to book the event for the high school gymnasium. “The thing is 45 feet long, it couldn’t have fit in the library unless we cleared the entire floor,” Dorfman joked. “We had to do it in the gym.”
The Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum provides the whale, along with a 30-minute educational program for kids and families, as an outreach program it holds in collaboration with schools and public libraries. “They talk about the whale’s anatomy for 15 minutes, and then the kids and families get to see inside the whale for 15 minutes,” Dorfman said.
West Hempstead is the first districts in Nassau County to have the whale at their school after the program debuted last year. It is also the first summer reading kickoff event, or program, that the library has hosted outside of the library.
Library Director Regina Mascia was excited that West Hempstead was the first library to host the whale program. “I think this was a great opportunity to increase interest in the reading club,” she said. “A lot of the time, people don't know what’s going on at the library, but more people can be informed by this event.”
Dorfman said all the 30-minute sessions from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. were booked, covering the duration of the entire event. “The kids definitely enjoyed it, and the parents had a pretty good time too,” Dorfman said. “This event was a good way to bring education outside, there was real community involvement.”
Mascia and Dorfman are enthusiastic about the level of involvement shown at the event. “Science is a jumping off point for reading in some ways, it can make kids interested in nonfiction reading,” Dorfman said. “Reading is a stepping stone on their adventure of life.”
Summer reading at West Hempstead Public Library is a six-week program at the library with open registration for both the children’s and adult’s rooms. If students participate in the program, an end-of-summer party will be held for the participants. Registration is available on the library’s website, https://whplibrary.org.
