We are excited to visit your library!!
Hi Librarians!
We are excited to visit your library this summer and share our love of whales with your patrons! Our program is designed to provide children with multiple engaging touchpoints, and we’ve included everything you need to know for a smooth experience—what to do before the visit, how to extend the learning afterward, and follow-up activities with worksheets.
How to Prepare
Before the Visit
The Day of the Visit
The Day of the Visit
Patron Registration and Visit Logistics
Starting with advance registration is the best way to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience. You can schedule 20 people per 30-minute session (with four sessions total). If parents want to join their children inside the whale, they must be included in that count of 20.
If you’re expecting a big turnout—around 80 children—feel free to let parents know this experience is designed specifically for kids. Parents are welcome to peek inside, snap photos, and listen from outside the whale. And good news—children over age 5 do not need a parent to accompany them inside.
You’ll receive an email with all the details to forward to registered participants. If you have the chance to speak with families before the program, please encourage them to watch the short video included in the email. It gives a helpful overview and makes the experience even more meaningful! (But no worries if they don’t—everything will still make sense the day of.
Finally, thank you in advance for forwarding the email you receive from us to the patrons that sign up for the program. It will have a link to the introductory video we hope they watch before they come!
The Day of the Visit
The Day of the Visit
The Day of the Visit
The day before, you will get an email with the name and phone number of the educator that will be doing the program.
The day of the program, we will arrive 30-45 minutes ahead of the scheduled time to start. We will need just 2 tables to set up the "outside the whale" activities on. Feel free to have some chairs for the parents, but really, a mostly empty room (that is vacuumed or swept) is what we love to see.
Sometimes libraries have set up stations that the kids can participate in either before or after their time in the whale. Crafts, recycled materials crafts, coloring pages, books, whatever you can dream up. There is a scavenger hunt and other activity pages in our marketing section!
After the Visit
The Day of the Visit
After the Visit
It's a big jump for kids to think about protecting the ocean--especially since some of you live so far away from it!
That doesn't mean they can't help though!
We are encouraging kids to develop Whale Safe Habits! Start with using a reusable water (no plastic water bottles). Once that is mastered, kids can level up and pick up trash, categorize their trash or design their own project!
If they are interested, here are resources that can get them started!!
Marketing and Program Resources
Images of Nile
Social Media Posts and Flyers
Social Media Posts and Flyers
Here are a variety of pictures of both the real Nile and the inflatable Nile. Feel free to use them!
Social Media Posts and Flyers
Social Media Posts and Flyers
Social Media Posts and Flyers
Feel free to use any of the posts that we have made for you. Click here to find posts for Facebook or Instagram. There is also a flyer you can edit!
Press Release
Social Media Posts and Flyers
Librarians' Great Ideas
We love when the newspaper or TV station comes to share what we do. The more people who care about whales and the oceans, the better. Please feel free to send the press release out!
Librarians' Great Ideas
Extra "Day of" Activities
Librarians' Great Ideas
Some librarians' have had great ideas to make tickets for people as they come. Here are a couple examples. Also, some fun photo booth ideas!
Scavenger Hunt
Extra "Day of" Activities
Extra "Day of" Activities
Jen from the Ansonia Library had an amazing idea to make a scavenger hunt. She said we could use her idea, so here it is. There is a 6 question and 10 question scavenger hunt. Print out the pages and hang them up in your library. Children can move around an answer the questions by finding information on the sheets.
Extra "Day of" Activities
Extra "Day of" Activities
Extra "Day of" Activities
We've made some activity pages that you can print out and make available that day. Enjoy
Tips for a GREAT Experience
1. Register Patrons in Advance
Advance registration helps keep things running smoothly and prevents long wait times. While some registered participants may not show up, others will be eager to jump in—and it always balances out! Don’t worry—we’ll make sure no child is left out or disappointed.
2. Setting Expectations for Parents of Young Children (Ages 1–4)
We know parents of little ones will ask, so here are three helpful reasons why this program is best for older children:
- The content is geared toward kids who understand basic body systems. Since we talk about whale anatomy (like hearts and lungs), it may be confusing for younger children who don’t yet grasp these concepts.
- Younger children are often hesitant or even frightened to go inside the whale.
- Finally, we ask kids to sit and listen inside the whale for about 20 minutes. Little ones often find this difficult and can become a distraction for the older kids who are fully engaged. This helps ensure a positive and focused experience for everyone.
3. Help Us Spread the Word
- We’ve created some quick, 60-second videos you’re welcome to share on social media to build excitement and answer common questions.
- Use the marketing tools and resources we have provided. Some of the best programs have been when the town makes it an event and has a few activities for the families to participate in!
- We love coming back to places we have been so feel free to encourage patrons to reach out to their local schools if they enjoy the program. We would love to send you a thank you for any schools you help us book! Check out our referral program.
Thank you for helping us create a meaningful and memorable experience for your community!