On July 9, the Lisbon Public Library — in partnership with the Grout Museum District — hosted a “mad mixtures” event at Lisbon Heritage Hall featuring a kid-safe chemistry show and lessons about the basics of science.
Meredith Nehring, Lisbon’s youth librarian, was the key organizer of this event. In her role, she is responsible for hosting regular story times, conducting outreach with potential partners and organizing events. She said every summer, the library explores different programs from nearby communities to find fun activities for kids and their families to engage in.
Due to its commitment to fostering curiosity and encouraging exploration, the Grout Museum was determined to be a great fit.
“We thought the Grout Museum would be a great option for this summer because there’s nothing more fun than cool science experiments and explosions and blasts,” Nehring said.
The Grout Museum, which is based in Waterloo, is dedicated to helping people understand the world through history and science. It does so by posting informational videos, holding tours, hosting field trips, and even traveling to other communities to hold demonstrations.
During the presentation, Jerry Walton — the Grout Museum’s community educator and outreach coordinator — performed experiments ranging from setting teabags aflame to make them float to freezing different items in liquid nitrogen; which he later smashed with a hammer, creating a thick fog and uproar among the youth in attendance.
Rounding out the show with a grand finale, Walton surprised the kids by making ice cream using liquid nitrogen. As Nehring expected, the mad mixtures show was a huge hit among the youth and families in attendance, which is demonstrated through the kids’ motto for the night: “smash it!”
In the future, the library plans to hold more events like mad mixtures — all of which are free — in order to facilitate hands-on learning and exploration.
“Kids deserve quality programs that help them think and explore the world and understand different aspects of it,” Nehring said. “Whether it’s the ocean, science, elements, books or stories, libraries are windows and doors to other opportunities. Sometimes, you just want to look through at another world, and sometimes, you want to walk through and enjoy the exploration on the other side.”
Starting at 6 p.m. Monday, July 27, the library will be hosting an event with the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium at Lisbon City Park. Here, families will have the opportunity to learn about ocean exploration and conservation as they interact with a sting ray touch tank. This is one of many upcoming events similar to mad mixtures that will be held by the library this summer.
In the case of unsuitable weather, this ocean exploration event will be moved to Southeast Linn Community Center. Updates can be found on the Lisbon Library Facebook page.
To learn more about the library’s upcoming events, visit https://lisbon-ia.whofi.com/ or stop by during its weekly story time on Mondays from
10-10:30 a.m.