Have you ever made elephant toothpaste? It takes some scientific experimentation to come up with just the right recipe. Professor (aka Mayor) Jacobs demonstrates his curious concoction for the ever-important pachyderm dental hygiene product in a very colorful experiment. It’s all to launch the Read City 2025 Curious Minds Challenge!
Knox County Public Library and Mayor Glenn Jacobs invite kids of all ages to join us for a day filled with mind-bending experiments, amazing demonstrations and hands-on fun. Library Laboratory is a free event that takes place from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 1, at Bridgewater Place (205 Bridgewater Road). Where else would you be able to operate a robotic arm, excavate fossils and explore the galaxy all in one place? You may even be brave enough to pet a big, hairy bug!
Bug petting? You bet!
Joining us to spark the imagination are Muse Knoxville, American Museum of Science and Energy, Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, Oak Ridge National Lab, University of Tennessee Knoxville and Zoo Knoxville, with booths and activities for kids of all ages. Mayor Jacobs will kick off the day with a story time on the main stage followed by presentations by Dr. Al Hazari, the Civil Air Patrol, the Owl Raptor Center and Hands-on Discovery Center.
In its seventh year, Mayor Jacobs started the Read City challenge to encourage families, businesses and organizations to support Knox County Schools and early literacy. The program began in 2019 with a community goal of reading 250,000 hours. Every year since then, the community has met the challenge, which expanded to a million hours. Last year, the challenge was to complete literary activities in more of a game-like format.
“The Read City challenge is a tangible way to encourage the entire community to be a part of the effort to help our children learn to read, and moreover learn to love reading. The schools do a great job, but they can’t do it alone. It takes all of us,” said Mayor Jacobs.
Knox County Public Library has worked with area partners to create a year-round program with reading goals, activities and incentives. This year’s theme is “Curious Minds” with the first leg of the challenge set for February 1 – March 16. Participants can pick up a “Scientists Among Us” game board at the event or at any Knox County library location.
The Library Laboratory is made possible through a generous grant from the Jane L. Pettway Foundation.
Mary Pom Claiborne is assistant director for marketing, communications and development for Knox County Public Library.
