Travel with the Library

            It is time to travel and the Calhoun County Library is here to help!

Did you know that the Calhoun County Library has free State Park Passes available to check out? These passes allow you to visit special places in South Carolina for free admission. This includes plantations, lighthouses, and even a castle! Come check out this pass, which also includes some books and facts about South Carolina. If you are planning on taking a trip, come check out a State Park Pass for free to save some money and see more places!

In addition to checking out a State Park pass, you can also check out binoculars and a telescope for free at the Calhoun County Library. Enjoy the outdoors this summer with bird watching, hiking, or walking on the beach with binoculars for great distance viewing. Attend a Fireflies or Riverdogs game and get a close-up of the infield with a great pair of binoculars! At night, check out the stars and try to locate the planets with the telescope. We hope to see you soon!

If you don’t want to go outside and look at nature, come visit the Calhoun County Library and pick up a Summer Reading Road Trip map. This is available for kids in 1^st through 6^th grade. Some ‘stops’ (tasks) on the map include reading a book to a pet, reading in bed, and checking out a book from the Calhoun County Library. As you complete these stops, color in each road sign. The tasks do not have to be done in order. When the road trip is complete, with all ‘stops’ done and colored in, bring your map to the Calhoun County Library and receive a prize! Make sure to log your reading minutes on Beanstack as well to earn those prizes too!

Porkchop Productions and Science

            The Summer Reading Program is in full swing at the Calhoun County Library and we’re off to an adventurous start! Our theme this summer is “Adventure Begins at Your Library,” and we’ve already ventured in space with a portable planetarium, created photographs called cyanotypes without a darkroom, and watched a twisted tale by our favorite performers, Porkchop Productions.

On Thursday, June 20, 2024, Porkchop Productions performed The Totally Twisted Tale of the Three Little Pigs. This event took place at the Calhoun County Museum as we partnered together to bring a bigger space to accommodate more patrons to watch this play. As usual, the performance was a blast and filled with laughter for children and adults alike.

Next week, on Thursday, June 27, 2024, at 10:30 AM, the Calhoun County Library will host Roper Mountain Science Center again to put on Science Magic for the Summer Reading Program. They will be conducting science experiments that look and feel like magic. Afterwards, the real-life scientist will explain how they really work. This event will be held at the library.

In addition to Science Magic, next week we will also be holding our annual STEM Science Camp. Dr. Lesa Rice-Jackson will be teaching 35 little scientists about seed germination with experiments, lessons, lab safety, and a lot of fun. STEM Science Camp starts on Monday, June 24, 2024 for an introduction and beginning experiments for the week and ends on Friday, June 28, 2024, with a ceremony for parents to see what their child has been up to at the library. Everyday STEM Science Camp will take place from 11:45 AM – 1 PM. This allows for the student to still attend our Science Magic Summer Reading Program before it on Thursday. To participate in STEM Science Camp, the child has to be a rising 1st – 6th grader and they must be registered! To register, call us at 803-874-3389. Spaces are limited so you do not want to wait.

Make sure to keep coming to these Summer Reading Programs to get free crafts, snacks, and books. Don’t forget to keep logging those minutes on Beanstack and pick up a free lunch compliments of the USDA SSO Program if you’re 18 years old and under, on Monday through Thursday from 10 AM – 2 PM.

This project is made possible by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the South Carolina State Library.

Register for Summer Reading and Free Lunch

            Summer Reading has begun at the Calhoun County Library and it’s not too late to register!

Our Summer Learning Challenge started on Thursday, June 6, 2024, with the Portable Planetarium from Roper Mountain. Our theme this summer is “Adventure Begins at Your Library,” and registration is now open. If you have not registered yourself or your child, now is the best time to do so. It’s not too late!

You can register several ways:

1.      Go straight to the website at https://calhouncountylibrary.beanstack.com/reader365.

2.      Come into the library and look for a QR code at the circulation desk or the children’s area desk. Scan and register!

3.      Come into the library and ask a staff member to help you register!

4.      Save the QR code that is posted on our Facebook and Instagram and scan in it in your photos on your phone!

5.      Find the QR code in the Calhoun Times newspaper and scan it!

Once you are registered, start reading and log your minutes. For every 60 minutes logged, you can come in to the library and receive a prize. Also, for every 60 minutes you log, your name goes into a drawing for a new tricycle, a new bike, or a new Kindle. The more you read, the better your chances are of winning!

Remember, there are multiple age categories for Summer Reading because we want everyone to be included. We have Early Literacy (ages 0 - 6), Children’s (Ages 7 - 12), Teens (ages 13 - 17), and Adults (ages 18 - 109). Register for the category that best fits your needs and participate to your hearts content!

In addition to coming to the library for the Summer Reading events and to get your prizes, we are giving away free lunches. The Calhoun County Library has partnered with the USDA SSO Program to serve as a distribution point for FREE LUNCHES for all children 18 and under. Lunches are available Mondays - Thursdays for the month of June from 10 AM - 2 PM. All the children have to do is stop by the library and pick up lunch. Maybe while they’re here, they’ll find a good book to check out! Come spend some time at the library and leave with a free lunch!

Thanks to Whittaker Williams, Calhoun County School Nutrition Director, and Terri Williams Parker, Health and Social Services Manager at the library, for making this program possible through the USDA SSO Program.

Calhoun County Library Starry Kickoff for Summer Reading

            The Calhoun County Library had a very starry-eyed Summer Reading Program Kickoff event and is looking forward to the next program to celebrate literacy. Register for summer reading on our website or scan the QR code while you’re in the library!

The theme this year for the Summer Reading Program is “Adventure Begins At Your Library.” To really get the adventure started, we had a special kickoff event planned for Thursday, June 6, 2024. Roper Mountain Science Center brought their portable planetarium to the John Ford Community Center gymnasium. So, what is it like inside a planetarium?  When we entered Roper Mountain’s large inflatable dome, we experienced what it’s like to be in outer space, ranging from looking at the night sky to watching big shooting stars and identifying constellations. With multiple 30-minute viewings, we were able to have over 120 people witness the stargazing phenomenon. To get our Summer Reading Program started off with a bang, we brought the galaxy to St. Matthews!

Our next Summer Reading Program is on Thursday, June 13, 2024, at 10:30 AM. Mary Dixon from the Calhoun County Soil & Water Conversation will be making cyanotypes, a camera-less picture using the sun and nature.

Also, don’t forget to register for the Summer Reading Program to log all your books and get your prizes for every milestone. Registration for Beanstack opened on June 1, 2024, but it is not too late to register. You do not need to be registered to attend the events, but you do need to be registered to get prizes. This includes the chance to win our end of the Summer prizes of bikes, gift cards, and more. So, register and log those books!