Girl Scout Expo

Take a thousand or so Girl Scouts, put them in one building, and what do you have?

FUN...at the Fresno Girl Scout Cookie Expo!

 

The Fresno County Public Library booth at the Cookie Expo was a busy place January 23rd at the Fresno Fairgrounds. Information about library resources, craft activities, and making new library cards were the order of the day.

 

Even with cookie tasting, inflatable obstacle courses, Star Wars Stormtroopers, Kopi Sotiropoulos, and other displays to get their attention, hundreds of Girl Scouts, leaders, and families from several counties of the Valley visited the FCPL booth. Eric Dunnicliff, Rita Leung, and WoW! staffers Joanna Chase and Terrance Mc Arthur helped Scouts with the craft and answered questions about library services.

 





Eric and Joanna,
waiting for the Expo to start.



Here come the Girl Scouts!



 







 

 

 

Bentley going to meet

his fans.

Bentley, the Library's popular mascot, made an appearance, greeting fans and posing for pictures. In the booth, Terrance told people about e-books and downloadable movies, Zinio online magazines, the Freegal music service, and Beanstack. All these FREE services excited leaders and parents, who carried off flyers and bookmarks filled with information.



The Girl Scouts decorated cut-out leaves with what they liked most about the library. more than 150 participated. The leaves will be part of a display at the Central Library in February. For helping to create the display, each Girl Scout received a patch with Bentley's picture stitched into it.







Girl Scout-decorated leaves,
ready for display at the Central Library.



The Library Patch for Girl Scouts,
Bentley-approved.

It was a lively event, with lots to see and do. Next to the FCPL booth, a radio station challenged people to hit a golf ball into a putting cup. Costumed members of the 501st (the local Star Wars re-enactors chapter) swung light sabers as onlookers oohed and ahhed.




   

Rita putts at the
booth next door.

Terrance learns a lesson:
never jostle a Jedi.

It was a good day for Girl Scouts, families, cookies, fun, and learning about the library. 

 



Books for Them

 



Beanstack is a new library resource that matches your child to quality children's literature, from  board books for babies to pre-teen fiction.

Just Imagine
Imagine your own electronic librarian, one who knows your child and can recommend books that meet their needs. Each week, your "Robo-brarian" would let you know about worthwhile books that fit your child's tastes and reading level. It would track reading, reward achievement, and suggest enrichment activities.

What Does Beanstack Do?
Beanstack sends e-mails with book suggestions tailored to your child's interests. The website features themed combinations of booklists for reading, subject exploration  learning tracks, and learning tips.

How To Begin
To begin with Beanstack, parents (or computer-savvy kids) fill out a reader profile with contact information, reading level, and reading likes. Explore the service. Enter what books are read. Earn colorful badges.

Oh, The Things You Can Do!
Beanstack's learning tracks are aimed at children from pre-readers to twelve-year-olds. Learning tracks are grouped sets of activities about animals, plants, cultures, behaviors, famous people, and other topics. Each theme has its own activities to engage young minds and reinforce learning skills. For example, the learning track on "Autumn" includes seven books to read, music to listen to, crafts, games, and fun facts. This FREE service helps prepare youngsters for a lifetime of learning. Come on! Climb the Beanstack!

Girl Scouts Halloween Event

The Girl Scouts of Central California South's invited the WoW! Team to their annual "Trunk or Treat" event celebrating the birthday of founder Juliette Gordon Lowe.  The scouts dressed in their best Halloween costumes, many as their favorite storybook characters, playing games at the activity booths.

The library represented by Mark, Misha, and Joanna.

Bookmarks to color were given out by WoW!

We made library cards on the spot for scouts and their families at our WoW! booth, while promoting the library's K-12 databases.  Popular with students is our homework center, covering subjects from arts to science, with invaluable research tools including encyclopedias, dictionaries, calculators, atlases, newspapers and journal articles. Remember that the library's databases are fact checked by experts, easily cited for reports, and encouraged by teachers to use over basic websites- which may have inaccurate information. (You can access most of our resources from home with your library card!)

The Halloween costume contest!

Give some of our K-12 sites a try, expanding your children's knowledge- and watch for those A+ grades!

WoW! promotes Early Literacy at EPU's Children's Center

EPU, Exceptional Children’s Center, welcomed Shannon and Kenny of the WoW! Team to promote free childhood literacy tools the library provides for parents during EPU’s Halloween Toddlerfest. 

Shannon and Kenny in action!

We made “Baby’s First Library Cards,” for kids aged 0-3, which gives children a head start on reading and developmental learning skills.   The library also offers Early Learning Centers at select branches which provide toys, games, and resources that build both literacy and the parent-child bonding experience. 

We showcased the library’s new children’s tablets, the LeapPad Ultra, and the iPad Air which are available for a 2 hour in house checkout, where kids can learn and play with new technology!  Parents were delighted to see how excited and captivated their kids were while using the tablets.  “My daughter was so well behaved; where can we use this?” said one parent.   Most branches have AWE Literacy Station touchscreen computers as well.

 iPad Air

Children's Tablet Checkout Locations (2 hour in-library use)

LeapPad Ultra- Cedar-Clinton, Fig Garden, West Fresno
iPad Air- Sunnyside, Mendota, Orange Cove

Parents were also excited about one of our most popular services “Dial-A-Story,” where you can call 559-600-TALE (8253), and listen to a children’s book read aloud.  A great way to keep your toddlers occupied and engaged!

And don’t forget to check the schedule of the Storytime events held at various branches!

WoW! Staff Helps Bring Storyland Back to Life!

You never know where the WoW! library team will turn up next. How about the middle of Roeding Park? We were there!
Entertainment, crafts, and new library cards were on the bill when The Fresno County Public Library helped bring Storyland to life during their recent grand opening weekend.  Entertainment joined with literacy for fun, interactive family events. The  craft area was a popular spot for children and young-at-heart adults.

After being closed for renovation, the longtime Fresno attraction reopened with safer walkways, brighter colors, and live characters to go along with the ever-popular statues, buildings, and interactive play equipment.

 

Beautiful art from Doug Hansen's "California Mother Goose" series surrounded library volunteers as they helped children make creative crafts, while WoW! staff issued cards on the spot.

Joanna Chase makes another library card. Go, Joanna!

This event took place September 5th through the 7th, 2015 at Storyland, located inside Roeding Park. For more information, contact Storyland and Rotary Playland at (559) 486-2124 or their website page: http://savestoryland.com/

--Mark Halvorsen