Imagination Station presenting science festival in Findlay

With a total solar eclipse on the horizon, the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library's annual CommunityREAD feature event will be a little more celestial this year. "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly has been chosen as the featured title for this year's reading event. The selection is the New York Times bestselling true story of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's African-American female mathematicians who played a crucial role in America's space program. Usually, CommunityREAD culminates with the author of the chosen book giving a presentation about the title, said assistant library director Joel Mantey. Because Hancock County is in the path of totality of the total solar eclipse on April 8, the library has instead chosen to invite the Imagination Station to share in the CommunityREAD and eclipse excitement on March 16. "Just with all the eclipse excitement, going on, we decided to focus CommunityREAD in a slightly different way, still tie into the eclipse but having the Imagination Station take over," said Mantey. Volunteers are needed to help with the special event that day, he said. The Toledo-based Imagination Station will visit the library to help educate and inform the community about science and space with hands-on fun for the whole family. "It will be great to get them in here," said Mantey. "The science festival will have 12 activity stations, downstairs and upstairs." The interactive stations will include soil observations, classifying rocks, eclipse exploration, bear's shadow, investigating clouds, objects in motion, land cover, star formation, space bingo, phases of the Moon, spacecraft design and film canister rockets. Mantey said the library needs 12-15 volunteers to help staff the activity tables. All volunteers will receive training and Imagination Station educators will be on hand to answer any questions. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and volunteers are needed to stay the entire time. As science can sometimes be messy, they should also dress accordingly. Volunteers should be at least high school age. Background checks will be conducted on all of the volunteers, according to Mantey. The Imagination Station's giant inflatable STARLAB will also be on site under the skylight in the adult services area. Once inside, this large planetarium will transform the library into a beautiful sky where participants will learn the science behind the solar eclipse. The festival is open for people to come and go as they wish from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Registration is required for the STARLAB portion. People can start registering on Feb. 16. This is a very different approach to CommunityREAD, Mantey said. Copies of the book along with the audiobook, large print and DVD are available in the circulation area. Books in a similar vein are offered for children during the event. YouthREAD titles selected as companions to "Hidden Figures" are as follows: pre-k through second grade — "Hello, Star" by Stephanie V. W. Lucianovic, illustrated by Vashti Harrison; grades 3-5, "Hidden Figures" (picture book version) by Shetterly with Winifred Conkling, illustrated by Laura Freeman; grades K-5 — "Eclipse" by Andy Rash; grades 6–8 — "Hidden Figures: Young Readers' Edition" by Shetterly; and grades 9-12 — "Hidden Figures" by Shetterly. Freeman, who illustrated the picture book edition, will give a presentation at the Mazza Museum on the University of Findlay campus on March 6. This is the 21st year for CommunityREAD, said Mantey. "When it started, they didn't have authors every time. But since the library took over, they have," he said. "This year, knowing the eclipse was right there after the month of March, it would have been overshadowed. This way we're still able to get everybody reading some space books, but we'll be having a lot of tie-in events like we do every year with it as well." To volunteer to help with the festival, contact Mantey at jmantey@findlaylibrary.org or 419-434-1474.