By AMY MANN
Technical Assistant, Children’s Services, Warsaw Community Public Library

The public library is all about the books, right? Knowledge is power.

Let’s think about that assertion. Scientists have found that when gifted children solve problems, increased electrical activity appears in both hemispheres of the brain. It appears that for the brain to work efficiently, the two hemispheres must work together.

By stimulating and exercising the right hemisphere, the creative side, the connection between the hemispheres is strengthened. If both sides of the brain are working together, a child’s mind is in its top condition, and ready to solve his or her personal dilemmas, and possibly the problems of the world.

Children naturally love art. Art is an open-ended and unstructured activity. Crafts are goal-oriented, or structured. The use of crafting has been around since the beginning of civilization, when people used things made by hand to facilitate their daily lives; for their own use, for trading or selling, and for spiritual or artistic expression.

Children who are allowed to experiment and learn from both types of activities, arts and crafts, have a distinct advantage in today’s world. Researchers from Michigan State University have found a strong correlation between experience in the creative arts and measurable success in later life. Children who were exposed to hands-on activities were more likely to create useful inventions, to be successful entrepreneurs, or to make discoveries in science and technology.

Warsaw Community Public Library offers various arts and crafts activities for our younger patrons.

Those staff who are usually our library’s Story Time story-tellers, offer activities to our preschoolers. Our Lego Clubs foster a love of creating things and of cooperation with siblings and peers.

Coloring pages in our department allow for creative expression. On breaks or holidays we often offer make-and-take crafts. Our toy area offers blocks, toy food and dishes, and other manipulatives. Creative programs are available on our game computers.

And we offer many books on the subjects of art, artists, and crafts suitable for the whole family. Come in and check us out.