Local children harnessed the autumn spirit through the Pumpkin Palooza at the Frankfort Community Public Library and created masterpieces while learning about the life cycle of pumpkins.
The event began with a pumpkin tower-building race where attendees were tasked with building the tallest tower possible with pumpkin-themed erasers within a 10-second time period. The attendees were then treated to a presentation of the life-cycle of the pumpkin from seed to squash, and attendees were invited to dig through a pumpkin to find its seeds and begin growing pumpkins at their own homes.
Following the life cycle presentation, attendees were fascinated by a “pumpkin volcano” that was created through the mixture of baking soda and vinegar before they began painting and decorating pumpkins to take home.
Liz Soutar, program organizer, stated that she begins formulating her programs with a simple idea that continues to expand until the program is fully developed. Soutar experienced a pumpkin painting event at the Kokomo Nature Center years ago, which inspired her to begin crafting the pumpkin-themed program.
“I haven’t done anything really messy yet,” Soutar said. “Once I knew I was going to be involving paints and a mess, the whole dissection and getting inside the pumpkin came to be, and then the volcano as well. I thought as long as we’re dressing for a mess, let’s go for it.”
The attendees were provided the option to decorate a living pumpkin or a wooden pumpkin as their final craft of the palooza. Six of the eight attendees elected to decorate the wooden pumpkins as one side of the canvas was pre-painted with a glow-in-the-dark paint that enticed the attendees. Soutar expressed that regardless of which pumpkin each attendee chose, she spotted smiling faces throughout the entire evening.
“It was pretty positive,” Soutar said. “They’re a good group of kids, so you’re going to get a good reaction. They’re here to have fun.”
Soutar commented that while many of her programs include a crafting element, she describes herself as “not crafty,” which leads her to encourage every attendee to not worry about every small detail while creating their masterpieces as small mistakes can lead to perfect imperfections.
“I always try to emphasize that I’m not crafty, and (my project) is the product of the fact that I made a mistake and covered up my mistake,” Soutar said. “I always, if I can, show the kids that it is whatever it is. It’s your project, here’s some ideas and the kids will go for it, and they’ll make some pretty cool stuff.”
Next month, Soutar will be hosting the “I Dig Dinosaurs” program for children between first and fifth grade. Soutar stated that her initial idea is digging for dinosaurs, but the program will continue to expand as the date draws near to include numerous other activities for the attendees to enjoy. Soutar drew the idea for the program from November’s theme, “Dino-vember” at the library.
“We’re trying to have these events consistently like on that first Thursday so people will know that something is going on for kids grades one to five,” Soutar said. “We want something that everyone can feel great about and be successful.”
Soutar expressed that the programs are geared toward incorporating the children into the library and the many experiences and activities that await them throughout their formative years, and she hopes that introducing the children to the library at a younger age will encourage them to continue their engagement into adulthood.
“I want the patrons to know that the library is a great place to be,” Soutar said. “I like to start that at this age group, and hopefully they’ll carry it into their adulthood.”
Pumpkin Paloozas will continue at the Rossville branch on Thursday, Oct. 12 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., the Mulberry branch on Thursday, Oct. 19 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. and the Michigan Road branch on Tuesday,
Oct. 24 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.