Take a trip

Area children encouraged to visit county sites in library's Adventure Passport program

Friday, May 29, 2009

Click here to enlarge this photo Piney Point Lighthouse E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo Patuxent River Naval Air Museum Click here to enlarge this photo Tudor Hall Click here to enlarge this photo St. Clement's Island Museum Click here to enlarge this photo Lighthouse at Point Lookout State Park Click here to enlarge this photo

St. Mary's County's library staff is hoping to lure area children into traveling a little this summer.

They'll supply the passport. They've set it up so admission charges are waived, at least for the participating children. They even have prizes for those willing to take the trip. And participants don't even have to leave the county.

"It just seems like a great way to spend the summer – every week, go a see a new site," said Marilyn Lash, publicity specialist for the libraries.

Starting June 1, children ages 5 to 12 can pick up an Adventure Passport at the libraries in Leonardtown, Lexington Park and Charlotte Hall. The passport lists 10 sites in St. Mary's. If five of those sites are visited by Aug. 31 and the passports are "stamped," participants receive a Bruster's coupon for free ice cream, and may be entered in the grand prize drawing for a copy of Sally Walker's book, "Written in Bone." For each additional site visited, they earn an extra chance for the grand prize.

The Adventure Passport program was developed to help area children celebrate Maryland's 375th birthday this year. "So they'll get to know St. Mary's County better and see sites they might not have seen before," Lash said.

Sites included in the passport are St. Mary's County Welcome Center; St. Clement's Island Museum; Tudor Hall; Piney Point Lighthouse, Museum and Historic Park; Point Lookout State Park Lighthouse and Civil War Museum; Historic St. Mary's City; Sotterley Plantation; Patuxent River Naval Air Museum; Cecil's Mill Historic District and The Old Leonardtown Armory (also known as the Leonardtown branch of the St. Mary's County Library). The passport contains a picture and description of each site.

Karen Hill, director of Patuxent River Naval Air Museum, said she was pleased to be included in the library's passport list.

Each of the 10 sites has prepared some kind of activity for children who visit as participants in the program. For instance, Historic St. Mary's City has prepared an activity sheet for participating children who visit their site.

"We're doing a very short scavenger hunt that introduces the museum and the flight line," Hill said of her site's plan for visiting children.

Hill sees the program as an opportunity to help the Navy museum fulfill its mission.

"We want to encourage a love of naval history and naval science in students," she said. "So, maybe the scavenger hunt will help pique that interest."

Susan Wolfe, executive director of the St. Mary's County Historical Society, which is housed in Tudor Hall in Leonardtown, was also pleased to be included on the library's passport list. "It's a jewel of a house," she said of Tudor Hall.

She noted that many children don't know the background of the historic site and she welcomes the chance to give them a tour of the house that has been a landmark in the county seat since before the Revolutionary War. Wolfe said she suspects that many don't know the building was once used as the Leonardtown library. "We just want [children] to know about it," she said.

The Adventure Passport program is funded by the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium, St. Mary's County government and the St. Mary's County Library.

"This is such an exciting program and certainly one we hope our families will take advantage of. It ‘s a great way for our younger ones to see the county, learn about our history and have fun at the same time," Lash said.

scraton@somdnews.com

To learn more

The Adventure Passport program is one of several summer programs offered at the St. Mary's County libraries this year. There will also be free professional performances offered from June 29 to Aug. 3. And there are reading clubs designed for children from babies through teens starting June 8. Wii family game nights, story times, movie showings and computer and drawing workshops will also be offered.

For more information about these library programs, contact Marilyn Lash at 301-475-2846, ext. 1007.

For more information about other St. Mary's County's Celebrate 375 events, visit www.Maryland375.com.