Hello, library lovers! What’s quacking? You are probably wondering about all the duck related puns. Here at the Cape Girardeau Public Library we try to keep things fun and relevant and one of the ways we do that is through fun holidays that we can incorporate fun library programs, activities, and materials about.
January is an interesting month. It's the start of a clean slate. A fresh year. A time of new beginnings and goals for the year to come. It also hosts National Rubber Duck Day. National Rubber Duck Day is January 13th. The date originates from Sesame Street where Ernie states that his favorite toy - his rubber duck- celebrates its birthday on January 13th. Though mostly associated with younger children, rubber ducks have a fun and interesting history for people of all ages.
Interesting Facts:
-They were first designed in the 1800s, but the first toys were not patented until 1928.
-During a storm in 1992, about 28,000 rubber ducks were washed overboard a ship into the ocean. Thousands have yet to be accounted for and many wash up on shores all over the world.
-Rubber ducks were originally made to be chewed on. They were made out of a harder rubber material, were not hollow, and as such were not really buoyant.
In recognition of the day, the Adult Services department is going to be making a yellow butter slime for our monthly crafternoon. In recent years, slime has been really popular with kids and teens. As an adult, I have found the process of making slime to be fun and relaxing. I don’t know about all of you, but in this post-holiday season I sometimes find that my brain feels like it is full of feathers. So what better way to recharge those mental batteries than by doing something fun and simple in a cozy environment? Just fly, swim, flap, or waddle your way into the library on January 14th. We will have the materials, just bring yourself and your friends to try something different! You know what they say, birds of a feather craft together.
And this won’t be the first time the library has done a rubber duck-themed craft! Just this summer the library had a duck decorating contest where kids, teens, adults, and staff all participated in decorating rubber ducks like their favorite book character. We had a lot of really fun and creative designs including my own decorated duck:
