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Alligators roam, children swoon, owl hoots at library

Swamp monsters at Grissom Library

Children gathered in awe as an assortment of “swamp monsters” invaded Grissom Library on the afternoon of July 20.

With an audience volunteer masqueraded as a frog beside him, Jim Drummond, an education associate with the Virginia Living Museum, presents the “Swamp Monsters” program on July 20 at Grissom Library.

Children gathered in awe as an assortment of “swamp monsters” invaded Grissom Library on the afternoon of July 20.

Virginia Living Museum Education Associate Jim Drummond first used a hand-drawn illustration of a swamp to explain that it is a flooded forest, not a marsh, and to demonstrate where “monsters” would live in a Virginia swamp.

“Part of our mission is to connect people with nature through educational experiences,” Drummond said. “We show them that these creatures are not really monsters, and that they can enjoy nature without being afraid.”

Drummond used props -- such as recordings of animal noises, and costumes for audience volunteers to don -- to encourage the children to guess what kind of creatures live in the murky ecosystems.

Each live creature he discussed, including an albino rat, infant alligator, screech owl, and fully grown bull frog, were available for the children to touch.

“I enjoy going to the libraries, they have good audiences who are eager to learn,” Drummond said.

The entire audience of 103 was allowed to pet each animal and then welcomed to present Drummond with questions after the presentation, which was a free program as part of the Newport News Public Library System’s Summer Reading Program, which continues through July 31.

To learn more about the Virginia Living Museum please visit, http://www.thevlm.org/ For more about the Summer Reading Program, please visit http://www.nngov.com/library/resources/srp.

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