BY SUSAN MCTIGUE
CORRESPONDENT
NORTHVALE, N.J.—Dozens of eager participants streamed into the Northvale Public Library on Saturday, March 23, to take part in T-shirt painting, button-making and learning how to create music using bananas and electrical circuitry.
Rooms throughout the library were set up with crafts projects, demonstrations of 3-D printing, do-it-yourself canvas bag painting, origami lessons and much more as part of its third annual New Jersey Makers Day.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Northvale Public Library, the three-hour event was organized by Head of Youth Services Emily Pepe who made sure these creative and educational activities flowed smoothly from one room to the next.
New Jersey Makers Day is a statewide program that explores and celebrates maker culture every March around the state. Its goal is to connect residents by encouraging the exploration of new opportunities for hands-on learning experiences.
Library Director Jennifer Kelemen has been key to the municipal library’s rebirth over the last four years and has engaged children, teens and adults to learn together as a community, using new technologies along with the more traditional library resources.
The range and quantity of programming each month include story times, magical melodies and a library Easter egg hunt on Saturday, April 6 at 10 a.m. for young children. Teens are drawn into the library for 3-D printing classes led by Chris Png, an electrical engineer who creates fascinating programs for all age groups, and by a gaming tournament and a chess club. Adults find many reasons to participate in activities at the library thanks to concerts, book clubs, ESL conversation classes, art lessons, and classes teaching basic Korean.
The Friends of the Northvale Public Library also support the Museum Pass Program for its patrons’ use. Included in this program are free passes for the Newark Museum, the Bergen County Zoological Park, the Storm King Art Center in the Hudson Valley, and the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City.
Located at 116 Paris Ave. in a 1937 building that once served as the Northvale public school, the library has become known for its high level of programming despite being a small municipal library. For details and further information, contact the library at (201) 768-4784.