Auburn Library hosted performers from Rhythm Imaginarium. Rick Morin told the almost 60 children how important music and rhythm are to learning.

“You can tell stories through rhythm. And, reading expands your imagination,” he said.

Morin had the children do some fun warmup exercises before they started to drum. 

“Music is not just instruments, but it also sound. Using your imagination makes your brain create a picture of a sound. Sounds can bring us to all different places,” Morin said.

The children got to play on giant plastic buckets and different sized drums using their hands and drumsticks to make sound. 

Morin had all the children learning to count to rhythm by clapping, slapping their legs, jumping and moving. 

Knightsville Library entertained almost a dozen children with the creative mind of Eric Fulford. Fulford had the children design and create a new comic book using their imaginations.

“It is not really hard. You only need three things; paper, something to write with and ideas,” he said.

Keeping with the theme of the Summer Reading Program, “Dig into Reading,” Fulford had the children base their comic book with an adventure story about the main character going on a quest.

“To be interesting, a comic book has cool pictures, an exciting story and different types of danger,” Fulford said.

Taking ideas and suggestions from the children, Fulford was able to make up a story right on the spot.

“This was the best library program I’ve been to all summer,” said Kaileigh Kelleher, first grade student at Glen Hills. 

Close to 20 children came to take part in the Rhode Island Museum of Science and Art workshop about sound perception at Cranston’s Central Library.

Program facilitator Jenny Torino presented a PowerPoint explaining how sound effects and editing make a movie, TV show or cartoon more enjoyable.

“We focus on having the children learn by doing projects hands-on. They are more creative when they don’t have to listen to a lecture about science,” Torino said.

Torino passed out random excerpts from “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows” to the several breakout groups. 

A table of recycled household items had different sound- and noise-making capabilities. The children had to use their imaginations to connect the sound-makers with the random passage from the book they were given. Once they decided on their props, they had to record their passage into a tape recorder with the sound effects to make the story.