Children Greeted By Marine Animals at George Hail Library

Children scrambled about the  on Wednesday afternoon. The children were picking out books they would like to read and movies they would like to watch just as they would on any other day. But when the time neared 2 p.m., all the children sat down on the floor in front of a round table.

The Biomes Center from North Kingstown was bringing marine animals to the children at George Hail Library. All the animals shown had been collected from Narragansett Bay.

“[They are] animals and creatures that live near you,” said Peggy Gossage, librarian at the George Hail Library.

After seeing the Biomes Centers exhibit herself, Gossage wanted to bring the animals to the children at the library. The program was geared to children from kindergarten to fifth grade but many older and younger children were present. Gossage stated that there were 40 children signed up to attend that afternoon.

Sitting in the back corner, parent Lisa Raposo kept a watchful eye on her 3-year-old daughter as she rocked her baby boy in her arms. Raposo had promised her daughter that they would go to the library that afternoon.

“It’s too cold to go to the playground so it’s nice to have something indoors that we can attend,” said Raposo.

All the children were greeted by a starfish named Patrick and a spider crab named Sally, along with many other bay creatures including a seahorse and a sea urchin.

This past Tuesday the library had a winter snow queen as part of their program and Thursday they offered a cartoon drawing programing . According to Gossage, the library tries to hold as many programs as possible during school vacations.

“Two to three days a week during the vacation week,” said Gossage.

They also have many programs over the summer to keep children learning and entertained during the long break. All programs are free of charge and open to all who wish to attend.