SPARK Imagination: Read!

SPARK Your Imagination by Reading

June 1, 2022 - Rochester, MN - Many students across Southeast Minnesota are excited for their summer vacation to begin. As summertime kicks into full swing, SPARK is bringing back their annual SPARK Imagination: Read! program which is aimed at helping children stay connected to learning through creative and fun reading opportunities.

Children that participate in SPARK’s summer reading challenge will receive incremental counting logs to track their summer reading. When each log is filled, children will return their log to receive a prize. Prizes are awarded based on two, five, ten, and twenty-five hours of reading. While reading at home is not always possible, SPARK offers a variety of programs and materials to help children reach their reading goals.

SPARK will offer free books for children to take home periodically throughout the summer, thanks to the generous support of Dollar General Literacy Foundation and the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. In addition, the “Give a Book, Take a Book” mini-library offers a selection of books for children to take home to read. Children can keep the book after they read it, share it with a friend, return it back to the museum, or exchange one of their current books from home for a new-to-them book from the mini-library. SPARK will also offer story time four times per week this summer, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:45 PM and Wednesdays and Fridays at 10 AM.

“Children love to be busy, whether that’s making, moving, or getting lost in a story. A great way to keep your brain active and stay busy is through reading,” said Heather Nessler, executive director of SPARK. “We hope that by sending books home with children or offering new and different spaces in which to read, like outside in SPARK Park, that children will find books they love, topics that intrigue them, and curiosity that keeps them engaged.”

SPARK’s Imagination: Read! program runs from June 1 through August 31. SPARK is always looking for new or gently used children’s books for children ages 1 - 9. Book donations can be dropped at SPARK, 1201 12th Street SW, Rochester from Tuesday - Sunday from 9 AM - 5 PM, and on Thursday from 9 AM - 6 PM.

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About SPARK:

SPARK's mission is to enrich the lives of young learners by creating shared, interactive experiences that engage people of all ages in the joy of play, the power of learning, and a sense of community. SPARK provides a place where visitors can learn about science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM), cultural connectedness, and health and well-being in a collaborative, open environment. As a 501(c)(3) community-supported non-profit organization, SPARK relies on the support of individuals, corporations, foundations, volunteers, and community members.