Bee-utiful Bee Field Trips

            Do you know what the biggest pollinator in the world is?

HINT:  We have them right here inside the Calhoun County Library!

The Calhoun County Library held special field trips for 4^th graders in the county to come visit our bees the last week of April. Due to spring blooming and summer around the corner, we had a lot to talk about which resulted in hour-long visits for the students. They rotated through four stations, each for 15 minutes, and they danced, sang, crafted, and learned so much about bees.

1^st Station: Each group made a bee-related craft. We made bee antennae headbands and a queen bee on a stick. While doing this, we taught the bee anatomy of antennae, wings, thorax, abdomen, etc.

2^nd Station: Each group went outside to our pollinator garden located right next to the library. We learned about what colors bees are attracted to and even learned a fun fact that bees cannot see the color red. While in the garden, we held a small scavenger hunt, looking for pollinators that were “hiding” in the garden.

3^rd Station: Each group watched two videos about the Waggle Dance that honey bees do to communicate with each other. A waggle dance is what a bee does with their abdomen to let the other bees know what direction and how far to go for the best flowers and pollen. During the last video, we taught them how to do the waggle dance themselves.

4^th Station: Each group got to visit our real-life bees! We taught the students about how a beehive functions and the stages that they go through from start to finish. Beehives are where bees take the pollen to make the honey, protect the queen, and also lay eggs. Beehives are their homes. Through the clear glass on our hive, we had a sneak peek inside and the students absolutely loved it. Some were a little scared, but after they realized that the bees could not get out or harm them, they were fully engaged.

Once every group visited all four stations, we gave the students a gift. Every child got a bee book and a goodie bag with many bee-related gifts, including a honey stick, a bee bracelet, bee stickers and tattoos, and honey candy. We had so much fun celebrating our bees and introducing them to the students.

Guess what? You do not need to be in school to come visit these bees. You can have your very own field trip and see what the buzz is all about!

Color Run to Color Our World: Summer Reading Kickoff

            The Calhoun County Library is getting ready to start celebrating the Summer Reading Program this year and that means we are having a giant kickoff event!

The Summer Reading Program theme this year is: Color Our World. For our Kickoff, we are making it big. We are going to have a blast of color for our kickoff with a Color Run on Thursday, June 5, 2025, from 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM. This event will be held at the Calhoun County Sports Complex, located at 600 Chestnut Street in St. Matthews. We will have complimentary kids’ white tee shirts while supplies last, so make sure to bring your own shirt just in case. After having fun in the Color Run, cool down with some cold, FREE Randolph’s Italian Ice, while supplies last!

Mark your calendars for splatters of color for the Summer Reading Program Kickoff on June 5, 2025, at 10:30 AM! Come run or walk through clouds of reds, blues, and yellows.

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.

A Day of Purple Martin

            The Calhoun County Library had a successful, fun time at all of the Purple Martin festivities last weekend, despite the rain.

Somewhat bright and early, our Bookmobile made an appearance during the Purple Martin Parade at 10 AM. We traveled a few miles, throwing purple skittles for your enjoyment. Through little and big spurts of rain, we had a few dedicated people stand tall watching the parade and getting a sugar-filled snack.

Then, from 11 AM - 3 PM, we painted purple martins at our tent between the library and the courthouse at the Purple Martin Festival. Calhoun County High School students of Mr. Sawvell drew outlines for our painters to guide them on how to get the best angle of the beautiful purple martin birds. We had many visitors who wanted to paint, grab a free book, and learn about all our programs, services, and materials. Sadly, we also ran into a few bands of rain. Practicing quick decision-making by our interns, they moved as many patrons under the tent as they could to ensure their paintings did not get ruined and then draped the rest with bright purple table cloths until the storm passed. We did not let the rain dampen our mood though!

In addition to painting purple martins, we had a very special program: the Birds of Prey Program from the Avian Conservation Center. This program focuses on history, conservation, and preservation and keeping animals safe. During the two showings we had of this event, the first at 12:30 PM and the second at 2 PM, we had live birds in the library! A Mississippi kite, northern white-faced owl, and a red-tailed hawk were in the library flying around. Each bird had an important message for us. One of them was about not littering because the red-tailed hawk came to their care facility full of BB pellets, a broken wing, and an infected eye. Now the bird only has one eye, which means they can never be released back into the wild. We even got to witness how this affected his flying because he tried to land and ended up crashing. This program is presented by The Avian Conversation Center located in Awendaw, South Carolina and we would like to thank them for such an informative and enlightening program.

While all of this was happening, the Friends of the Calhoun County Library were having a fantastic book sale where everything was only 50 cents! This included books, puzzles, and movies. We had many browsers and customers who purchased a lot of materials. Be on the lookout for more information about our next big Friends Book Sale coming soon!

Thank you to everyone who watched us in the parade and stopped by the library or our tent for some fun. This is another successful, yet rainy, Purple Martin Parade and Festival in the books!

Little Purple Martin, West Rucker