HILLSBOROUGH – Come explore the brand-new exhibit at the Hillsborough Township Municipal Complex.
The new addition is an interactive, nature-filled, storybook journey adventure course called a “StoryWalk.”
The Hillsborough branch of the Somerset County Library System of New Jersey (SCLSNJ) and the Hillsborough Township Parks and Recreation Department partnered up to create the exhibit that debuted in the rain garden outside the municipal complex on August 1.
“This ongoing initiative contributes to our widening partnership with Hillsborough Township,” said Hillsborough Library Branch Manager Karen Pifher in a press release through SCLSNJ.
“The StoryWalk book will be changed on a monthly basis, weather permitting. We encourage community members of all ages to stroll through the garden and enjoy this month’s librarian-curated selection.”
The library chose the book “Those Darn Squirrels’” by Adam Rubin to display in the StoryWalk exhibit for August. The book is separated chronologically across 17 panels with roughly around two pages to read on each panel.
Hillsborough’s Youth Services Librarian Patricia Farmer said the library has wanted to make a StoryWalk exhibit for some time.
StoryWalk was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vt., and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg Hubbard Library in 2007.
“It is a good fit for Hillsborough,” said Farmer about the StoryWalk exhibit. “It is really a great way to introduce early literacy for parents with their children and a great physical outdoor activity to do as a family.”
So far, Farmer said the library has had many patrons approach them about the StoryWalk and adding many families have “enjoyed” walking through the exhibit.
The ultimate goal for the library is for the StoryWalk exhibit to become an activity that families are excited to do together each month when they come to the municipal complex or the library, she said.
“We want it to become a habit for families and people to come explore the exhibit (each month),” Farmer said.
The library was provided with resources from the township’s Parks and Recreation Department to create the StoryWalk in the rain garden.
Director of the Parks and Recreation Department Robert Wagner said, in the SCLSNJ press release, that helping the library with the StoryWalk will lead to the community having more programs in the future.
“Sharing resources with the Hillsborough branch enables us to offer additional programs for our community,” he said.
The Library and the Parks and Recreation Department plan future StoryWalk exhibits around the Hillsborough community in different township parks.
For more information on Hillsborough’s StoryWalk exhibit, visit https://sclsnj.org/hillsborough-storywalk or call the SCLSNJ Hillsborough branch at (908) 458-8420.