Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Wednesday, April 25, 2007
When Gail Borden Public Library staff questioned a second-grade class in 2005 about how they liked its popular and highly successful dinosaur exhibit, they also asked for suggestions on future demonstrations. “One boy stood up and said, ‘you have to do something on space!” said Joan Berna, president of the library’s board.
Boy, did they ever listen.
In conjunction with NASA, Gail Borden will present four months of displays, simulators and interactive events in their 2007 exhibit, “Space: Dare to Dream.”
The space theme will carry over into the library’s summer reading program “Mission: Read,” and a fundraiser for the district’s first branch “Launch the Branch.”
“This all helps literacy,” said Carole Medal, the library’s executive director. “It is going to lead them to be more inspired to read. When people learn more about something they want to read more about it.”
The exhibit will include a simulator of the Saturn V rocket and “Forest of Dreams,” a multimedia presentation of a night sky. Patrons can pose in astronaut uniforms and ask questions of volunteers, some of whom will be dressed in authentic replicas of Galileo’s attire.
Parts of the exhibit have been traveling the country since it was created in 2003. Other cities where it has been displayed are Detroit, Seattle, St. Louis and Cincinnati.
“Just look at all these major cities,” Medal said. “And now we can add Elgin to that list.”
The Grand Victoria Foundation is paying for $150,000 of the exhibit, officials said. Other costs — which will be covered by the library’s fundraising body — will include shipping some of the exhibits to Elgin and possibly paying for an astronaut to speak at the library.
“Elgin has been a community that has redefined itself for years,” said Nancy Fishman, executive director of the Grand Victoria Foundation. “I don’t know if there is any library that has redefined itself from the traditional libraries as much as this one has.”
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