Children Reading to Adopt Owl

The potential “adoption” of a Great Horned Owl from Lake Erie Nature & Science Center is motivating children to read this summer. The Bay Village branch of the Cuyahoga County Library kicked off its Summer Reading Program this month, with a variety of incentives to keep kids turning pages over the summer, including the promise of an “Adopt An Animal” certificate in their name.

For every 400 hours the children read, the Bay Friends of the Library group has pledged to donate money to “adopt” the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center’s Great Horned Owl for one month. Librarians are urging the kids to read enough to push the adoption to a year!

Activities to kick off the library’s “Eco Quest” Summer Reading Program, included a June 14 visit from Lake Erie Nature & Science Center Wildlife Director Dave Wolf and a live, Great Horned Owl! We hope a look into those great golden eyes will keep the kids’ eyes focused on lots of great books over the summer! If you missed that bit of inspiration, you can visit our Great Horned Owls during normal operating hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. , seven days a week! Find out more about our Adopt An Animal program at this link.

Readers Soar In Eagle Adoption Reading Challenge

The final tally is in and the children racked up more than 7,000 hours of summer reading to "adopt" the bald eagle that resides at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center. The Friends of the Bay Village Cuyahoga County Library branch promised to pay one month of eagle adoption fees for every 350 hours logged during the “Read, White and Blue” summer reading program.
During a celebration at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center Monday night, Bay Children’s Librarian Susan Ballard announced that the kids earned 20 months of support for the eagle! “The children exceeded my expectations,” Ballard said. “Our wonderful Friends group will be making a generous donation on their behalf.” During Monday's wrap-up party, about 50 children and parents also got to see the adopted eagle and learn more about our living national emblem. Wildlife Director, Dave Wolf, also presented the library with a framed adoption certificate. A sign on the eagle exhibit here at the Center will also pay tribute this wonderful group of summer readers!

Kids Read To Adopt Eagle

We owe a big thanks to young Bay Village book lovers and the Friends of the local County Library branch! The "Friends" pledged Adopt An Animal dollars as an incentive for their summer reading program, and -- WOW! -- did the kids rise to the challenge! Young people of all ages racked up hours and hours of reading time to benefit our living national emblem.
The Center is hosting a free program Monday night (8/13/07) at 7 p.m. where the children's librarian will announce just how many adoption dollars were earned. (We hear it totals more than a year's worth of eagle sponsorship!) Kids will also learn more about bald eagles and see the beneficiary of all their hard work.
FYI: The bald eagle was taken off the endangered species list earlier this summer, but this beautiful national bird is still protected by law. In fact, our resident eagle, which can't be released due to permanent wing injury, lives at the Center under state and federal permits.