Race pits bug against bug, wraps up summer reading
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POLSON — Ants, beetles and centipedes were all over the upstairs of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2988.
No, it wasn’t an infestation.
It was the North Lake County Library District’s summer reading program’s annual bug race, and 32 kids participated. Earwigs and daddy long-legs spiders were not allowed.
Each child found a bug, secured their insect in a lidded bug jar and trooped into the VFW on Aug. 6 to see how fast their bug compared to others.
The race courses were large circles taped on the floor with a starting square in the middle. The goal of the race was to have your bug start in the middle and be the first to cross the taped line. With so many children, seven adult judges oversaw the five tracks and one championship circle.
“The only downside of the bug race is when the bugs expire or decide to not move,” said Kendra Mullison, youth services librarian.
Emily Waltman and her brother both had ants, but her ant was nearly dead, she said, so it didn’t run.
Kyle Gage had captured a grasshopper, but the bug met an untimely end.
“This is the winning beetle,” Nathan Moore said, displaying a big, black, hard-shelled beetle.
Moore was a second-generation bug racer who attended with his grandparents, Chris and Viktra Bumgarner.
A group of kids from Fun and Fancy Free Daycare thought grasshoppers were the fastest.
The winners got prizes, and everyone received an insect “flyer,” sort of like a foam airplane to assemble, plus a sticker and snacks.
Bugs were released outside the building.
The bug race is the culmination of the summer reading program. This year’s theme was heroes and heroism, according Mullison.
Approximately 1,009 readers signed up for summer reading program and, of those, 540 kids and adults returned reading logs, some returning to get a second or third reading log. Summer reading began on June 8 and ended on Aug. 7. Participants were eligible to enter raffle drawings for theme-related prizes.
Each Thursday Mullison and the library staff provided activities, such as an egg drop, where kids used Styrofoam or padding to design a crash-proof “suit” for an egg; two crafting session where kids made a super hero cape and super hero masks; a visit from Jill Simpson, Mission Valley Animal Shelter director, who brought Daisy, her dog; a visit to the Polson Fire Station where kids took an up close and personal look at the fire truck and were even allowed to shoot off the fire hoses; Tim Thornton, emergency room physician’s assistant came down from Providence St. Joseph Medical center to talk about safety on the lake and around town; and a field trip to the Showboat Cinema to see “Big Hero 6.”
Next week on Aug. 13 will be an ice cream social at the library, and the prizes will be drawn. There are 46 smaller prizes and a major prize -a $150 gift certificate to Whitefish Mountain, Mullison said.
