The grand opening of the new children\u2019s wing at the Bellwood-Antis Public Library was held on Saturday and turned out quite a crowd.
\nIn honor of the new children\u2019s area, Curve mascots, Steamer and Diesel Dog, visited with children and gave autographs. Drawings were held, and some lucky kids went home with autographed Curve baseballs and other memorabilia.
\nAlso, from DelGrosso\u2019s Amusement Park, Buddy Bear was on hand to greet the children and Engineer Rudy shared stories and railroad safety tips with the kids.
\nThere was also face painting, balloons, a train video and milk and cookies for everyone to enjoy.
\nBy the size of the crowd that turned out Saturday morning and the excitement of the children, the event was deemed a huge success.
\nChildren tested out the new toys, including a kitchenette, a train table, blocks, dress-up costumes and stuffed animals. Many enjoyed the child sized furniture, curling up to listen to a parent or friend read a story.
\nTwo of the four child-sized tables are covered with maps, one of the United States and one of the world. Kids had fun sitting at the table and trying to locate Pennsylvania and where they live.
\nThe new computer area was also a hit, as some children found games to play.
\nAnother feature of the new addition that was a big success was the large windows overlooking the railroad tracks behind the library. With each passing train, a group of children would gather excitedly at the window to watch.
\nLast summer, the Bellwood-Antis Library purchased a four-unit apartment building which is situated directly beside the library, with plans to expand the existing building and add the 3,200 square foot children\u2019s area.
\nConstruction at the site began during the last week of February.
\n\u201cWe wanted to have it done in time for the summer reading program,\u201d said Bilka.
\nAs far as funding for the project, Bilka said, \u201cWe\u2019re hoping to receive support from area businesses along with the community.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re also trying to get the kids involved in the project as well. We already have a Brownie troop that has agreed to help.\u201d
\nShe said they are also looking at possibly working with the school district and to get more kids involved.
\nIn order to complete the new addition, funds in the amount of $325,000 are needed. An anonymous donor stepped forward early on in the planning process and agreed to match any funds raised, up to $100,000.
\nCurrently, $150,000 is still needed, as volunteers continue to work on the libraries fund drive.
\nAccording to Bilka, over 30 organizations use the library, whether it is to hold a monthly meeting or to share presentations with the public.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re hoping local organizations who use the library will each help raise funds,\u201d said Bilka.
\nShe explained if each of the 30 organizations held one fundraiser, a lot of money could be raised for the addition.
\nThe new children\u2019s area includes a story area, computer area, projection area and child-sized bookshelves surrounding the entire room.
\nA lot of child-sized furniture and toys were purchased for the new area thanks to a Family Place grant received by the library.
\nThe new computers are strictly for children up to fourth grade.
\nOne special toy a train for children to enjoy as they sit near the large window facing the train tracks.
\nBilka explained the children love to see the trains go by and this will provide the opportunity for that to happen.
\nThere is also an area for sofas near the window and another area with rocking chairs for storytelling. One section accommodates several child-sized tables, one with a map of the United States and other with a map of the world.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re very excited about the children\u2019s addition and we feel it will be such an asset to the area,\u201d said Bilka, \u201cand we\u2019re really hoping the community will join in our efforts to raise money for this project.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The grand opening of the new children\u2019s wing at the Bellwood-Antis Public Library was held on Saturday and turned out quite a crowd. In honor of the new children\u2019s area, Curve mascots, Steamer and Diesel Dog, visited with children and gave autographs. Drawings were held, and some lucky kids went home with autographed Curve baseballs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41113\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}