Pennsylvania State Museum offers Summer StoryTime Series for Young Children

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 2, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- StoryTime in Curiosity Connection, a reading series for children aged 3 to 5, will take place Thursday mornings, July 11 through Aug. 15, at The State Museum of Pennsylvania. 

The readings start at 10 a.m. and feature a different book each week. Each reading is followed by a related play activity. 

The program is held in The State Museum's popular early learning space Curiosity Connection and is free with museum admission.

StoryTime will feature a wide range of children's books related to The State Museum's collections and exhibits. Some of the readings include a visit to a museum gallery where a special activity will highlight an artifact or museum feature. 

Two of the books featured in the series have received the prestigious national Caldecott Award for children's literature. One of the selections is the 'Pennsylvania One Book, Every Young Child,' book of the year.

The summer series is dedicated to Dawn Dutcher, a museum educator and Curiosity Connection director, who died on May 31, 2013. Dutcher worked at The State Museum since 1995.

"One of the last things that Dawn did with Curiosity Connection was to work with our Education Department to develop the StoryTime series," says David Dunn, State Museum Director.  "We're remembering Dawn's talents and her excellent service to the museum and the central Pennsylvania community with this StoryTime recognition."

The StoryTime schedule includes:

July 11       Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

July 18         Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall, winner of the Caldecott Medal

• Followed by activity in the Industry and Transportation Gallery

July 25       Do You Know Which Ones Will Grow? by Susan A. Shea. Listed on the 2012 Baker's Dozen: The Best Children's Books for Family Literacy, presented by Penn State's Pennsylvania Center for the Book

August 1    The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer

• Followed by a salamander presentation by State Museum science curator Dr. Walter Meshaka in Ecology Hall

August 8    A Bus for Us by Suzanne Bloom
                 The 2013 Pennsylvania One Book, Every Young Child book of the year

August 15  Have You Seen My Duckling? by Nancy Tafuri, A Caldecott Honor Book

• Followed by a free Planetarium show, "Don't Duck, Look Up!"

The State Museum of Pennsylvania, adjacent to the State Capitol in Harrisburg, is one of 25 historic sites and museums administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission as part of the Pennsylvania Trails of History®. The State Museum offers expansive collections interpreting Pennsylvania's fascinating heritage.

With exhibits examining the dawn of geologic time, the Native American experience, the colonial and revolutionary era, a pivotal Civil War battleground and the commonwealth's vast industrial age, The State Museum demonstrates that Pennsylvania's story is America's story.

Museum hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for children and senior citizens.

For more information about the museum, visit www.statemuseumpa.org.

Media contact: Howard Pollman, 717-705-8639

SOURCE Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

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