StoryWalk™ Draws Families into Reading

DuPage Children's Museum partners with the Naperville Public Library and the Naperville Park District for a StoryWalk™ on the Riverwalk! 

Over 210 people arrived downtown on a brisk September morning to take part in the first ever StoryWalk™ on the Riverwalk. The morning was filled with reading, play, and FUN! 

 StoryWalk™  is a literacy and physical activity medium that engages  community members in reading children’s books in unique environments,  like the beautiful Riverwalk in Naperville. StoryWalk™ is a series of signs  featuring sequential spreads from a children’s picture book, allowing the  reader to follow along the story by walking. The StoryWalk™ concept was  created by Anne Ferguson and developed in cooperation with the Kellogg  Hubbard Library and the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition.

 As participants arrived at the Naperville StoryWalk™ event, they were  greeted by library staff who provided a map directing them along a path  that highlighted the well known book Stellaluna by Janell Cannon. Big book pages were staked into the ground along the path to encourage interaction with the beautiful landscape of Naperville's Riverwalk--all while engaging in literature and exercise! At the end of their walk, families found refreshments and the Museum's portable exhibits. DuPage Children's Museum offered a playful learning

experience on the Riverwalk with smaller versions of the exhibits that you see inside of the Museum. 

If you missed it this year, don't worry! Be on the look out for the StoryWalk™, it will be back next year! 

Contributing blogger Rashmi Mehotra is Children Services Supervisor at the Naperville Public Library. She seeks new opportunities to encourage and engage children to become lifelong readers. Nichols Library is right across from the beautiful Riverwalk, a perfect natural setting for a StoryWalk™.