2nd-3rd Story Time sessions are the second Wednesday of every month at 10:00 am CST or  12:00 pm CST.

JANUARY 10, 2024: Ruby Bridges Goes to School — The Eisenhower Era marked the beginning of the modern civil rights movement and a growing federal commitment to the cause of civil rights. In 1954, the Supreme Court declared that the doctrine of separate but equal schools was unconstitutional. For years after the ruling, the South simply refused to integrate and in 1957, President Eisenhower ordered federal troops to enforce the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School. Integration was still an issue when, in 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges walked through an angry crowd and into a school where she changed history. This is the true story of an extraordinary little girl who helped shape our country when she became the first African-American to attend an all-white school in New Orleans. This book and its correlating art activity connects students to the courage of a young girl who changed history, and explores the terms “equality,” “civil rights," and “justice for all.”

FEBRUARY 14, 2024: The Relatives Came — In a rainbow-colored station wagon that smelled like a real car, the relatives came. When they arrived, they hugged and hugged from the kitchen to the front room. All summer they tended the garden and ate up all the strawberries and melons. They plucked banjos and strummed guitars. When they finally had to leave, they were sad, but not for long. They all knew they would be together next summer. Today it is difficult to imagine our country without the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System. It was not until 1956, when President Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act, that interstate highways began to meet the challenge of the growing number of automobiles on the nation’s highways. That growth spurred more growth that completely transformed the United States. Students will be introduced to map reading skills and take their own road trips across America.

MARCH 13, 2024: Samuel Morse, That’s Who! — Back in the 1800s, information traveled slowly. Who would dream of instant messages? Who imagined a system that would use electric pulses to instantly carry coded messages between two machines, rain or shine? Long before the first telephone, emails, or tweets, who changed communication forever? Samuel Morse, that’s who! All soldiers, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, learned Morse code during Army training. It was key to communication across distances during World War I. Rather than taking weeks to be delivered by mail, critical pieces of news could be exchanged almost instantly. Students will be introduced to this great ancestor of today’s communication technologies and try their hand at Morse Code.

APRIL 10, 2024: Swatch — In a place where color ran wild, there lived a girl who was wilder still. Her name was Swatch, and color was her passion. From brave green to in-between gray to rumble-tumble pink . . . Swatch wanted to collect them all. This is an exuberant celebration of all the beauty and color that make up our lives. Dwight D. Eisenhower loved to paint. It was a hobby he picked up in between WWII and the Presidency. He always kept an easel and canvas near in order to take a minute to step away from the issues of the world for a few minutes and tap into the joy of colors. Students will be introduced to Ike’s paintings and have the chance to create their own masterpiece.