On March 9, “The Jolly Reader”, a sizeable sunken pirate ship, debuted at the Shelton Timberland Library to an estimated 200 children, patrons, and community members. The pirate ship offers an impressive imaginative play and learning structure with a cozy reading nook with port holes, a secret treasure trove hidden beneath, as well as interactive stations for rope tying, climbing, dress up, and a working ships wheel.
The pirate ship built entirely by the Timberland Regional Library’s facilities staff, is a sizeable 26 feet long, 17 feet wide. The ship is ADA accessible with activities for kids ages 0-12 with imaginative features such as a crow's nest with a parrot watching from above, floating jellyfish that bob in the underwater-style lighting, and many openings to climb in and out of the ship. For their youngest of patrons, there is an area with age-appropriate manipulative toys for learning and building hand/eye coordination.
The spacious downstairs Children’s area in the Shelton Library has been re-arranged to “moor” the ship and features numerous seating areas for parents to read or relax while their children explore and play. Books and materials have been rearranged to make the space more open and accessible to the littlest of patrons so that anyone can easily browse and select their own materials. For older kids, there is a large area with interactive play stations and makerspaces to create art or explore other projects.
After keeping the pirate ship a secret from patrons as it was constructed downstairs, the Shelton Timberland Library staff were excited to finally unveil it to their patrons in an “Under the Sea” themed party on March 9 with face-painting, live music, a mermaid, a pirate, costumes, rope-tying, and much more which delighted the event attendees.
Shelton Librarian, Kristine Techavanich described, “Witnessing the pure joy that The Jolly Reader brings to children (and grown-ups too) has been amazing. Aboard the ship, kids are actively acting out stories, inventing games, and making new friends. There’s something for kids of all ages and abilities to engage both their minds and bodies!”
This addition to the children’s area in Shelton is part of an ongoing plan from TRL to provide enhancements to the spaces of their youngest patrons, taking into account the evolving needs of the communities in their 5-county district, the need for more free indoor spaces for families during the rainy seasons we experience in the PNW, and the need for innovative library spaces that foster learning through play while encouraging literacy.
On the recent episode of “No Shhh...it’s the TRL Podcast”, Deputy Director, Kendra Jones, addressed the ongoing efforts to enhance library children spaces saying, “We have a lot of rural communities (in our service district), where there aren’t many services [for kids].... There's been buckets of research to show that children learn best through play.... So if we look at that and say, ‘Well, libraries have spaces that are open for everyone...’, Wouldn't we be a great space to help children on that learning adventure?” In the past year TRL has enhanced children’s spaces in Ilwaco and West Olympia in addition to Shelton and is in early planning stages for adding to the Westport Timberland Library children’s space. “All of [the children’s spaces] will have improvements eventually,” Jones states.
Gratitude has already been expressed from patrons who have visited the ship. “What the Shelton Library has brought to our family is more than I could have dreamt up ten years ago when we moved to the area” says Shelton Library patron, Kristine Anderson. “The library of even 5 years ago looked so different than it does now - not just in physical appearance but the staff, support, programs, and opportunities... We have family members in large cities that do not have a library like we do - they don't know the staff, they don't have the programs, they don't have the support, and they definitely don't have a pirate ship! We appreciate the Shelton Timberland Library who are helping to shape my children's memories and positive feelings on books, learning, and community.”
Check out more photos from the opening event., opens a new window
Visit The Jolly Reader in the downstairs Children’s space in the Shelton Branch located at 710 W Alder Street Shelton, WA 98584 open Mon-Sat 9-6 and Sundays 9-4.
Watch a video reveal from the opening event.
