After the end of the school year, and as the summer is gradually speeding up, children’s summer camps began in five branches of the Panevezys Elena Mezginaitė Public Library (Lithuania). The children’s summer camps of the Elena Mezginaitė public library in Panevėžys always attract interest. This year, 154 young people from Panevėžys participated in the camps, 1423 visits were registered, and campers took part in as many as 85 activities. The library community is happy that 50 children have become new library readers.
On the occasion of the opening, Pirates, the mouse Minnie with Pokemon Pikachu, the clown Batareika, Vaiana, and Baby Girl entertained the campers. The kids like these characters, so they were happy to receive them and had a great time with them. Campers danced, sang, played outdoor games, blew soap bubbles, smashed piñatas, made jokes, etc.
There were many educational activities. The campers created fractal drawings, made gift boxes from colored paper, created holiday cards, participated in the educational activity “Monsters of Emotions” with artist Jurgita Čiplytė, learned how to tie dolls together with folk artist Audronė Virbalienė, decorated T-shirts with art therapist Milda Butkevičiūtė, dream catcher angels, stars, hearts from produced non-wearable denim clothes with the founder of “Denim Diaries” Milda Paukšte. Ieva Brikė, actress of Panevėžys Juozas Miltinis Drama Theater, helped the children to discover their bodies and release their creative powers. She also invited children to create characters and stories in the “Shadow Theater” session.
Physical activity was one of the main things this year. Coach Raimundas Dambrauskas taught campers walking with Nordic sticks, and campers participated in karate training at the “Argus” club and exercised at the “Impuls” sports club.
This year, the campers visited several institutions located in the city of Panevėžys: they participated in the educational programs of the Panevėžys Local Lore Museum and the Gabrielė Petkevičaitė-Bitė Public Library of Panevėžys County, they visited the Panevėžys branch of the Lithuanian Audiosensory Library, the State Archive of Panevėžys County, the Nature School, they became presenters and participants after going to the radio station of Panevėžys “Pulsas”, watched a movie at the cinema center “Garsas”, in the children’s playroom “Zizlys”, visited the “Super Garden” company, where they tasted freeze-dried berries, fruits, and ice cream!
The children were excited about the excursions. This year, the campers learned a lot of interesting facts about snails at the Snail Farm, met the chief witch at the only Witch Museum in Lithuania, combed horses and rode ponies at the Nausodė stables located in the Panevėžys district, visited the Parlament Palace in Vilnius, Gediminas Castle, the National Visitor Center of Protected Territories and the town of Naisiai.
The library team receives words of thanks from children and parents, which encourage them to organize more and more entertaining and meaningful activities every year.
Text by Anžela Vasiliauskienė, Vaida Žalienė
Photo by Library
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