If you’ve walked into the Grandview Heights Public Library in the last few months, you may have noticed something different.
Standing tall in the lower level of the library are new exhibits, the result of a collaboration between the library and The Ohio State University’s Museum of Biological Diversity.
The library unveiled the collaboration back in October with Skeletons, Disguises and Creatures of the Night, three exhibitions wrapped up into one to kick off the partnership with a bang. The exhibitions featured interactive kiosks marked by animals’ skeletons, creatures such as owls and reptiles that blend in with their environments, and bats and other animals that start their days as we end ours.
“We wanted to bring those out and wow everybody,” says Canaan Faulkner, public relations manager for GHPL. “They were amazing. … The nice thing is that these exhibits have all these interactive components. You’re seeing educational graphics, books (and) there’s also a craft table.”
The exhibition ended Dec. 1, and Surviving Winter took its place. Each exhibit is stationed within a kiosk. The top of the kiosk might feature 3-D models or taxidermy animals, and cards underneath each animal pull out from the table, revealing facts and fun graphics about the displays. For hungry minds, the back of each kiosk features related books to learn more about each exhibit’s topic.
Photos credits of Grandview Heights Public Library
The exhibits support early learning curricula laid out by the Ohio Department of Education, helping student visitors solidify what they’ve learned in the classroom using real world and hands-on topics.
“We’re supporting our goals and objectives as a library, and it’s interactive learning, just something different to offer,” says Faulkner. “We like building strong community partnerships. This is a partnership with OSU, a partnership with the schools.”
No matter what time of day, library guests can expect to find a child or two exploring the kiosks. Each exhibit features all sorts of moving parts, colorful graphics and easy-to-understand language, making exhibits accessible to all ages.
“They’re just really fun. They’re fun to plan and put them together, but you can walk through the library at any time and see someone involved with them,” Faulkner says. “It’s nice that someone’s always engaging with them.”
Another major plus for library guests: The exhibitions are funded entirely by private money. The Grandview Heights Public Library Foundation, which has undertaken initiatives including the GHPL PopUp Library and WiFi in Grandview Parks, is also supporting the GHPL’s collaboration with OSU.
Surviving Winter left the library on Jan. 31, but Faulkner says that’s nowhere near the end of the library’s partnership with the Museum of Biological Diversity. Not only does OSU have similar goals to the GHPL, it has a wealth of materials for the library to pull from.
“They’re involved in outreach, they kind of have the same sort of mission for their outreach as we do – hands-on,” says Faulkner. “They have some neat stuff. They want to get the community and public engaged.”
For those interested in the exhibitions featured at the GHPL, Faulkner says to keep checking back in, as the library has more up its sleeve related to exhibits, and because the kiosks are on wheels, it’s easy to transport them around and try new, creative things using the kiosks as supplementary material.
“It’s kind of limitless what you can do with these exhibits,” says Faulkner. “We’re enjoying working with (OSU) so much. We have so many ideas and they have so much great stuff. It’s been a great collaboration.”
Amanda DePerro is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at jwise@cityscenemediagroup.com.
