Start the course between 6:00 & 7:00pm, Tuesday, June 18

A fun walk in Menasha for the whole family!

Kids and families are invited to use their brains and their feet on our Brain Walk between the Library and the Trestle Trail. The walk, sponsored by the Children’s Department and Menasha Parks and Recreation Dept., begins in the library parking lot.

Along the way walkers and bikers will stop at stations to answer fun questions or listen to small information bits from co-sponsoring organizations (Heckrodt Wetland Reserve, First Books, Menasha School District, the Police Department, the Fire Department, Health Department, and others).

Kids and families who return to the library will enjoy an ice cream treat. Free for the whole family. Need more information, please contact the Children's Desk at 967-3670.

The Dig Into Reading summer program, which runs from Monday, June 10, through Saturday, August 3, encourages kids to read a little daily to keep up their skills over summer vacation. A recent study found that children should read forty books over the summer months to retain what they learned in the previous school year. Past studies confirm that reading over the summer helps kids do better in school.

This year we will have reading challenges at two levels: The Thirty Books Challenge and The Forty Books Challenge. Children will receive a folder to write down their titles during the summer. If they read 30 books, they receive extra coupons. If they read 40, they receive a certificate of appreciation and a one-day family swim pass to Swimtastics.

We will report all the names of those enrolled in the summer library program to their schools, and keep a special list of children who took The Thirty and The Forty Books Challenge and achieved their goal.

Children enrolled in the program read for 10 to 20 minutes a day and attend great free programs at the library. They spin a wheel to receive a small incentive each week that they complete their Dig Into Reading bookmark slip.

Each child goes at his own pace and completes as many slips as he or she can. Every child who completes at least 6 of the 8 possible slips will receive a paperback book in August. With a great lineup of special concerts, entertainers, book parties, crafts, nature, and arts programs, we promise kids a lot of fun and great reading over the summer months.

Pick up a brochure of programs planned throughout the summer at the Children's Desk.

The Reading Cup Challenge

The Reading Cup will go to the Menasha public or private school with the highest percentage of children from grades K-5 participating in the summer library program.

The trophy will be presented to the winning school's principal in September. The winning school will keep the trophy until the first week of May next year, when it will return to the library and be put into our display case for the summer.

Children will be able to keep track of their school's progress on a wall chart with movable racing magnets. When they come into the Children's Room, they can see which school is out in front.

The Reading Cup travels to a different school each school year as different schools win the trophy.

Passport to Nature

The Fox Cities Passport to Nature program runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend. Pick up a passport at the library!

The passports invite families to these outdoor sites: 1000 Islands Nature Center in Kaukauna, Heckrodt Wetland Reserve, High Cliff State Park, Gardens of the Fox Cities, Bubolz Nature Preserve, and Purdy Preserve/Apple Creek YMCA.

Walk the trails. Connect with Nature. When families complete each visit, they receive a shrinky dink from staff members. Collect three shrinky dinks and turn in your passport at any of the outdoor nature centers for a Passport to Nature pin. Three shrinky dinks also give you the chance to enter a raffle to win prizes!

All library events are free and open to everyone. Those with special needs are encouraged to call the library office at 967-3662, within 24 hours of the event, to assure that specific needs with regards to parking, building and meeting room accessibility are met.