FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2008
IMLS Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
Museum
and Library Programs Can Slow Summer
Learning Loss in Young People
For many children, summer holds the promise
of swimming pools and summer camps. But parents know that
it’s also a time when children can lose valuable
educational gains made during the school year -- an average
student who doesn’t read or engage in other learning
opportunities can lose as much as 2.5 months of learning
over the summer! The nation’s libraries and museums
stand ready to help children and youth enjoy exciting
summer time activities and retain their educational gains.
“We encourage families to participate
in the low- and no-cost museum and library programs that
are available in virtually every state,” said Anne-Imelda
M. Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS). “The programs are so much fun.
In addition to outstanding reading programs, museums and
libraries offer arts and craft making, games, family nights,
contests, and prizes. There are also visits by authors,
story tellers, scientists, and educational entertainers.”
Libraries have been as busy as bees: Catch
the Reading Bug is the theme for this year‘s
National Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) reading
program. For teens, the theme is Metamorphosis.
The program’s 46 state members provide high-quality,
low-cost summer reading program materials for children.
IMLS funds many of the programs through the Library Services
and Technology Act.
“Summer is a great time of year for
children to choose books and discover the true joys of
reading,” Radice said. “Many libraries have
adult reading programs and intergenerational programs,
so the whole family can participate.”
Many states customize their summer reading
themes. For example, the Colorado State Library is partnering
with the non-profit Butterfly Pavilion on an activity
page that may be used as an admission “ticket”
to the Butterfly Pavilion in August and September. Other
states have followed suit:
- New York has translated Six Easy Ways to Get
Your Kids to Read this Summer into Spanish, Haitian
Creole, Chinese, Korean, Urdu, Arabic, Bengali, and
Russian.
- In Wisconsin, Pam Carlson created a Summer
Reading Game called "Who Will Be the Next Etymologist,"
in which young library patrons complete a series of
educational bug-related tasks.
- The Virginia state library posted the public service
cartoon promoting summer reading in English and Spanish
on Youtube.com at http://www.youtube.com/user/LibraryofVa.
Museums are also swinging into action.
Many children’s museums, science centers, zoos and
aquariums participate in reciprocity programs so your
membership at one gets you free admission or other perks
at others. IMLS supports many summer museum programs,
including:
- The Adventure Science Center in Nashville,
TN, which will host free science camps for at-risk third
through sixth grade students from June 23-July 18. (Museums
for America grant)
- The Summer Safari day camp at the Atlanta
Fulton County Zoo, in Atlanta, GA. Volunteens, ages
13-17, will help out at this camp, for children ages
4-13. (Museums for America grant)
- Summer archaeology and field ecology programs, hosted
by The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut in Mashantucket,
CT, for Pequot children and their non-Native peers.
(Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services grant)
- “Mini-camps,” co-sponsored by
the Staten Island Children's Museum in Staten Island,
NY, that are expressly for children with anxiety and
attention disorders. At these camps, they can paint,
sculpt, garden, and cook with other children. (Museums
for America grant)
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Summer
Learning Tips |
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To
minimize children’s summer learning loss,
IMLS offers tips for parents:
- Visit your local library and sign up your kids
for the summer reading program.
- Read to and with your kids. Be an example to
your kids by doing some reading yourself.
- Use the library to explore your child’s
interests. Ask the librarian how to find books,
Web sites and other resources to nurture your
child’s curiousity.
- Plan low-cost, educational field trips to local
parks, zoos, and museums.
- Check out free programs and day camps at your
local library or museum.
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“By taking their kids to libraries
and museums, parents can minimize the effects of summer
vacation on learning,” Radice said. "Libraries
and museums are also a great place to meet new friends
and build social networks in person and online. It’s
fun for everyone."
More resources:
- To learn more about the National Collaborative Summer
Library Program, please visit: http://www.cslpreads.org.
- For more information on summer learning loss, please
visit the Johns Hopkins University Center for Summer
Learning Web site at http://www.summerlearning.org
- For more information on family literacy, please visit
the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) Web site
at http://www.famlit.org.
Many of the materials are in English and Spanish.
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