McWane Science Center visits Helena Summer Reading Program

Published 2:59 pm Thursday, June 15, 2017

By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–One week following the Helena Summer Reading kickoff event with magician Russell Davis, the Jane B. Holmes public library had another fun program in store on Wednesday, June 14.

The McWane Science Center of Birmingham brought the magic of science to Helena City Hall on June 14, for the second program of the Helena Summer Reading program.

With shows at both 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. children had the opportunity to see how science works using fun experiments.

L’Toya Jones with the McWane Science Center in Birmingham was in charge of delivering the program and she used a number of different volunteers to help her with the science experiments.

The theme of the program was engineering as children of all ages got to see a variety of experiments to see how electrical, structural and aerospace engineering worked.

Some of the experiments included a electricity conductor test using electroplating to show how opposites attract, a balloon experiment that involved putting weight on the balloon over a bed of 100 nails, a bridge building challenge, a putty experiment, an air pressure experiment using a potato gun and more.

Phrases of “Wow,” and “That’s so cool,” could be heard coming from the crowd as Jones performed the science experiments.

Jones said the main goal of the McWane Science Center program in the summer is to bring science to the children.

“We spend the summer traveling around to different areas in the state, especially some of the rural areas,” Jones said. “For those who can’t make it to the McWane Science Center in Birmingham, our goal is to bring the McWane Center to them.”

The theme for this year’s Summer Reading program is “Build a Better World” and registration is free. The program will last six weeks and participants will be eligible for prizes the more books they read.

The program ended with a special surprise as each child in attendance left with a free pass to visit the McWane Science Center in Birmingham.

The remaining schedule for the summer reading program is as follows:

–June 21–Midsummer Movies at the Library–10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

–June 28–Visit with the fire department–2:30 p.m.

–July 5–Visit with the police department–2:30 p.m.

–July 12–Summer reading Wild West Show close out celebration –2:30 p.m.

In addition to the summer reading program, the Jane B. Holmes library will also host “Story Time with Ms. Jennie” every Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m.

To view and purchase photos from the Helena Summer Reading McWane Center event, visit Shelbycountyphotos.com.