There is something magical about a place that people of all ages want to visit.
If you have young children, and Airdrie Public Library (APL) is a place you bring them, you’ll get what this column is about.
Every day, parents and caregivers walk, bike or drive to APL with eager little minds in tow, and the look of anticipation on these small faces as they wait for the tall people to activate the sliding doors at the entrance is worth any price of admission.
Which, in APL’s case, is always free.
“My child gets so excited coming here,” one parent told us of her happy and bouncy four-year-old. “You’d think we were going to Disneyland.”
If you’ve been in our cramped little library, that might seem like a wild comparison, but when you're four and the place you're walking into is filled with the belief that anything is possible, you might bounce a little, too.
APL is a place where children discover that fictional characters like Mickey Mouse, Dora the Explorer and Thomas the Tank Engine share the same space as real-life astronauts, engineers and firefighters.
It’s where the world of what is normally big people stuff – invention and innovation – are magically transformed in creative maker spaces that challenge young explorers to improve motor skills and learn valuable problem-solving techniques.
Probably the greatest wonder of the library is that they are an accessible cultural hub, where the vast and exciting worlds of knowledge, learning and play fuel the imagination and feed the minds of future citizens, activists and community leaders.
And yes, like a Disney theme park, it’s not just kids whose eyes sparkle when they enter our doors – teens and adults are also drawn by the same sense of magic and wonder that inspire lifelong learning.
This is what libraries do.
Also happening at APL:
ART – Aug. 10 from 1 to 2:30 p.m. for youth (ages nine to 14), and 3 to 4:40 p.m. for teens and adults (ages 15+).
For more information on all our programs and services, visit airdriepubliclibrary.ca, call 403-948-0600 or drop by the library for your free library card.
