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Poland library hosts week-long puppet camp
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Todd Dicken (left) and the Poland library youth librarian Annette Ahrens displayed a hand puppet during the puppet camp.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.A few examples of the kinds of puppets that were made during the puppet camp at the Poland library included (from left) a rod puppet, a hand puppet, a sock puppet and a marionette.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Max Hennis followed the illustration on the paper in making his seal puppet during puppet camp at the Poland library.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Max Hennis, of Edinberg, Pa., applied glue in making a puppet during the puppet camp at the Poland library.
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Neighbors | Tim Cleveland.Todd Dicken got some help in displaying how a hand and rod puppet works during puppet camp at the Poland library.
By TIM CLEVELAND
The Poland library gave young people a chance to show off their creative side as the library hosted a puppet camp Aug. 11-15.
Poland library youth librarian Annette Ahrens said her own love of puppetry was the impetus for starting the camp.
“I am a member of the Puppeteers of America; I love puppetry,” she said on Aug. 12. “Last year, the director of programming for the library [Josephine Nolfi] had this idea that she wanted people to do week-long camps. She knew I was interested in puppetry so this year I decided I can do this week-long camp and I could teach kids how to build and work with puppets.
“I loved the Muppets growing up as a kid. My husband, Todd Dicken, is also a puppeteer and when we got together we realized we love puppets.”
On the first day of the camp the children built sock puppets and masks; on Tuesday they made rod puppets and ninja glove puppets; on Wednesday and Thursday they were taught how to use the puppets and they started to put performances together. On Friday they had a public performance with the puppets they made.
Seven children signed up for the camp. One of them was Max Hennis of Edinberg, Pa.
“I wanted to come to the puppet camp because I thought puppets are really cool,” he said.
Hennis said there weren’t any kinds of puppets in particular he was looking forward to making most.
“I thought I’d just make any puppet I was allowed to make,” he said.
Ahrens said doing the puppet camp ties in with the library’s emphasis on youth literacy.
“It’s another art form,” she said. “A lot of the scripts that I have are fairy tales. It’s another way for kids to get into reading and another way for them to express themselves. When we do story times, afterwards we do crafts because it helps kids do something concrete with their hands that’s related to what they just heard and helps them relate everything together.”