Porter Memorial Library

OPEN — Tuesday – Friday 10am – 5pm / Saturday 10am – 1pm

Porter Memorial Library’s

SCHOOL VACATION WEEK EVENTS – FREE

Tuesday April 16                  11-12 noon  Experiments with Sound Workshop (ages 5-11)

Wednesday April 17            11-12 noon  Author Don Green reading from “The Dragonfly and Me: An                            Enchanted  Adventure in Ecology for Children” (Ages 5-11)

Thursday    April 18            11-12 noon   Snack & Stories from EFNEP (Expanded Food & Nutrition Education program) w/Rita Stephenson, Community Education Assistant, UMaine Cooperative Extension (Ages 4-8)

Friday April 19                    11-12 noon    Annual Porter EASTER EGG HUNT! Ages 3-9

Saturday April 20th            1-2pm          Meet John Colter, Mountain Man, member of Lewis & Clark Expedition   w/historic re-enactor Chuck Parker

Ecology Book for Young People in Time for Earth Day

Ever notice that dragonflies dart to and fro? Local author Donald Green used to wonder about it when he was young. In recognition of Earth Day, Green will read aloud from his chapter book called “The Dragonfly and Me: An Enchanted Adventure in Ecology for Children.” Green’s presentation at the library takes place Wednesday, April 17 at 2 p.m., during Porter Memorial Library’s school vacation week activities for youth. Kids and their families are invited to attend.

Green wrote “The Dragonfly and Me” to encourage young minds to wonder about and someday, take responsibility for the changing world around them. Making the connection between one’s individual self and the rest of the world is the first step in a chain of engagement that helps ecology to thrive. And ecology, the science of living beings in relation to their environment, is at the very heart of Earth Day. Earth Day has been celebrated every year since 1970 on April 22.

For more on school vacation week and Earth Day events at the library, call 255-3933. Porter Memorial Library is located at 92 Court Street in Machias.

Porter Hosts Mountain Man John Colter LIVE! – April 20th

On Saturday, April 20 at 1 p.m., Porter Memorial Library will host a talk by mountain man John Colter, as portrayed by historian Charles Parker. John Colter was recruited by Meriwether Lewis in 1803 as a member of what became the Corps of Discovery under Captains Lewis and Clark. Parker’s live presentation at the library on April 20 is one of several special events for youth and families scheduled for school vacation week.

Parker will be dressed as Colter, in deerskin, with implements of the fur trade by his side; and will speak in the first person, as if he really is Colter. This style of presentation is sometimes called living history, or Chautauqua format. When you meet Mountain Man Colter at Porter Memorial Library, imagine that the year is 1810, and Colter has just arrived in St. Louis by canoe.

Student Art Shows Spring Up at Porter

Porter Memorial Library will hold two art shows for local youth this spring. Starting April 9 and continuing through April 30, student art from Rose M. Gaffney Elementary School (RMG) will be on display at the library. The show will be curated by RMG Art Teacher Becky Lee. An opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, April 13 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Family and friends of the artists are welcome to attend.

The following month, from May 1 through May 31, artwork by area home school students will be featured in an exhibit at the library. The home school student art show is open to any home-schooled students from Machias and the surrounding area. Opening reception for the home school student art show is planned for Saturday, May 11 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. Make arrangements to participate in the show by calling the library at 255-3933, or stopping in during hours Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.