New York Library Breaks New Ground with Nature Explorium

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Middle Country Public Library in New York has accomplished something extraordinary. It will be the first library in the country to offer an outdoor learning environment, in the form of a 5,000-square-foot community classroom. Targeted to preschool and elementary school age children and their families, the Nature Explorium will provide a direct experience with nature for children through hands-on outdoor activities as well as areas for climbing and crawling, art, music, performance, reading, planting, and much more. 

This dynamic project was four years in the making and is the first-ever library Nature Explorium. The concept, developed by the Dimensions Educational Research Foundation and the Arbor Day Foundation, has been successfully tested throughout the country in other settings, including child care centers, community centers, and schools.

Nature Explorium is set to open this May. A ribbon cutting ceremony is slated for July. Library staff members will be doing a presentation on the project at PLA this week.

For more information on this project, please contact Sandra Feinberg, Middle Country Public Library director.