Overview of Silver City Nevada Summer Program 2014

About two dozen children whose parents and grandparents live in Silver City or Dayton attended the annual Silver City Summer Program in 2014. This year, the theme for the summer kids' program in Silver City was "STEAM" (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math). The program began on Thursday June 19 and ended on Thursday August 7.

Activities included:

1)Engineering, Science, Math: Two classes of two hours each included Science activities with Jim Barcellos of 4-H. Mr. Barcellos taught kids to build and test their own wind turbines and to carry out other experiments. Parents and kids alike always enjoy his classes.

Following are a few quotes from parents and kids who took part in his classes: "Jim is a very nice man to give his time for the kids to broaden their horizons and brighten their summertime." - parent. "I thought it was fun."- participant, age 9. "Wonderful with the kids, and very patient. He kept all of them engaged." parent. "He interacted so well with the kids, remembering each of their names from last week. He made the concepts understandable and relevant to the kids. And they loved the use of the glow sticks in the activity last week." - grandparent

2)Environmental science: participants had lots of fun during two classes of two hours each, observing live bees and honeycomb and preserved bat specimens,working out math problems, identifying clay models of animal tracks and scat, and even doing jumping jacks to learn about birds, bats, and bees with with Linda Conlin of River Wranglers fame.

3)Horticulture: Kids learned how and why to grow edible flowers, including Scarlet Runner beans, and planted their own to take home and grow. This popular class was taught by farmer Mary MacDonald of Silver City's Beautiful Food Farm

4)Engineering and Design: Local fine arts store Doodads Emporium will be sponsoring the first annual Silver City Invitational Downhill Derby in September, and this summer kids had a chance to find out more about the the engineering and design elements required for "soap box" or gravity racer motorless cars when they took a look at Doodad's gravity car.

5)Arts: 8 parents and kids from Silver City attended Shakespeare at Lake Tahoe (Sand Harbor). The play this year was "As You LIke It", set in the Wild West.

6)Literacy: Kids borrowed lots of books, especially nonfiction books on animals, from the Silver City library this summer, and those who read over the summer can choose from a prize box at the local fine arts and antiques store, Doodads Emporium.

7)Gardening: Kids visited the garden and harvested snow peas for a mid-morning snack

8)Crafts: Old fashioned Playdough turned out to be one of the most popular activities of the summer, with kids gathered at one of the picnic tables in the shade to play for hours.

Plans for Summer 2015:

Summer 2015 will include continued focus on STEAM activities, with visits from the Society of Women Engineers for hands-on engineering activities, and lots of visits from local professional artists.

FUNDING: The youth program is funded, in part, by Healthy Communities Coalition, plus guest teachers from regional nonprofits such as 4-H, local fundraisers and donations and volunteer work from Silver City residents and groups.

The program is an annual tradition in the community of Silver City, which is located in one of the few National Historic Landmarks in the state of Nevada. The town is home to the renowned Silver City Fireman's Ball, to the world famous, annual Ferrari Races, and to many well-known artists, musicians, archaeologists, artisans, and writers. It's views of the Sierras and its historic buildings and sites attract visiting plein air painters and photographers from around the West.

For more information, contact Quest Lakes of Healthy Communities at 287-7598.

FAQ About the Silver City Nevada Volunteer Library

1)HOW MANY BOOKS DOES THE Volunteer LIBRARY HAVE? The volunteer library now has thousands of books, many sets of reference works like encyclopedias, a large film collection, magazines, etc. thanks to donors from all over the U.S., Silver City, and the county. Especially generous donors include the Lyon Public Library System, which buys magazines for the library and donates discarded books to us (books they no longer need).

2)I don't see thousands of books? Where are they? Most of the collection is stored in the basement of the school house/community center so that there is plenty of room for other uses upstairs. The collection is rotated every 3 to 4 months, and new arrivals are added each month so there are always new things on the shelves. Below is a list of some particularly interesting parts of the book collection, but the collection includes something for most interests and for every age level.

3)If it's not a public library, how do you keep track of the books? Locals can borrow up to 20 books at a time - it's an honor system and people are encouraged to bring them back in a month or two. There's never been any problems with books disappearing. People are really good about not only returning the books, but bringing them back with a few extras to add to the collection.

4)When is it open? The library has no regular hours, but local residents can borrow books whenever they're at the School House for a town event (and there are lots of those!) or a town meeting.

5)What is the Summer Reading Program? During the summer, the library encourages local kids to read books from the library and in years past, kids who read a particular number of books got to go on a reward trip (for instance, to Tahoe, the VC Pool or a children's movie in Carson City). In summer 2015, the library will offer incentives such as art materials for kids who keep up with their summer reading.

6) Does it Include Publications by Current and Former Residents of Silver City and the Comstock Region? Yes, you'll find books by Robert G. Elston , Robert Elston Jr., Karen Wright, David Toll, Jim McCormick, Shelia Swan, Peter Laufer, etc at the library. See this link for more about the Peter Laufer books: http://www.silvercityreads.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-books-by-shelia-swan-and-peter.html

7) I'm a Science Fiction fan; does the library have much? The library has added hundreds of titles in the sci-fi category, including series from Marion Zimmer Bradley, David Eddings, Zenna Henderson, Raymond E. Feist, Andre Norton, Jennifer Roberson, Anne McCaffrey, Elizabeth Moon, and Mercedes Lackey, among many others.

8)I like to read mysteries; what do you have? The library has hundreds of mysteries by dozens of authors, including Raymond Chandler,Tony Hillerman,Walter Mosley,Nevada Barr, Haruki Murakami, Steg Larsson,Carl Hiassen,Ruth Rendell, Ngai Marsh, Patricia Highsmith,Elmore Leonard, Dorothy Sayers,etc.

9) Do you have reference works on art? Yes, due to a generous donation from local artist Karen Kreyeski, the library now has a larger section on art history and selected artists, including works on Picasso, Wahhol, Escher, Goya, Gaughin, Klimt, van Gogh, O’Keeffe, Judy Chicago, and Aubrey Beardsley.

10)I'm a Civil War buff; what do you have on that subject? Due to a donation through local Larry Steinberg, the library has a large collection on Civil War history too

11) Does the library host events? The library periodically hosts special events, including an annual summer reading program and various guest speakers. On Feb 11, 2014 from 5:30pm-8pm, the library hosted a Nevada Arts Council "Art Town Meeting" for the Comstock region. Following are just a few examples of other events the library has hosted in the last few years 1)local resident Dr. Ron Reno gave an archaeology lecture on Windmill Wash and the Civilian Conservation Corp's attempt at a flood control project for Bunkerville, NV in the 1930's. The young CCC men ended up creating some skilled rock work that still exists today. 2)During a Chautauqua performance at the library, scholar Doris Dwyer portrayed the famous photographer, Margaret Bourke-White who married novelist Erskine Caldwell in Silver City in 1939 when the couple toured Nevada 3)Fun with Science, a hands on class approved by the Nevada Registry for child care providers, preschool and elementary teachers, parents and grandparents, was offered free of charge at the library. It was one of a series of similar classes at the library 4) "Tune In To Kids" hands-on educational activities with kids and their parents was offered at the library and park with staff from the Nevada Early Childhood Project for 3 summers in a row