The Oak Harbor Library kick-off for a summer chockful of activities begins Tuesday, June 24, with the Pacific Science Center exhibit. The library will offer other weekly programs through the summer.

Backyard Battles is scheduled at 1 and 3 p.m., Tuesday, July 1.

Preschool storytime will be available at 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. on July 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, and Aug. 7.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch Changes at 1 and 3 p.m., Tuesday, July 8, will show how caterpillars transform into butterflies.

For a full listing of the weekly programs, visit the Sno-Isle Libraries Web site at www.sno-isle.org.

The Pacific Science Center will temporarily move into the Oak Harbor Library next Tuesday, June 24, cleverly passing off education as a tactile and seismic experience.

As part of its annual summer “Science on the Go” program, the center will present “Rock & Roll: Volcanoes, Earthquakes and More” from noon to 6 p.m. at the library.

“We know how difficult it can be for some families to get to Seattle,” said Carol Rice, Oak Harbor Library children’s librarian. “It brings science to the kids.”

Funded by the Friends of the Oak Harbor Library and the Sno-Isle Library Foundation, the program will lend perspective to the sheer enormity of dinosaurs by allowing young attendees to walk in the tracks of the formidable beasts. Rock and fossil specimens from around the world will stimulate the imagination while the opportunity to create an earthquake will provide sustenance for the other senses.

“This is very hands-on,” said Tomi Whalen, also an Oak Harbor children’s librarian.

The last time the road show made a stop in Island County, it left in its wake an inspired group of young people.

For more information about events and programs, visit the user-friendly

Sno-Isle Libraries Web site at www.sno-isle.org.

Catch the reading bug

Sno-Isle Libraries, through its activities and summer reading program, has developed a system by which kids can work through books at their own pace, setting goals and striving to achieve those benchmarks.

The “Catch the Reading Bug!” program is already under way. Kids can register up at the Oak Harbor Library or simply print out the reading log at www.sno-isle.org and start reading.

Readers are able to tailor the program to fit in with their schedules, allowing ample time for other summer activities like consuming snacks, tormenting siblings and climbing inordinately large trees that would make many adults wet their pants.

“It’s a no-pressure program,” said Carol Rice, Oak Harbor Library children’s librarian. “They can read at their own pace.”

All Sno-Isle Summer Reading 2008 participants receive two free tickets to an Everett AquaSox game this summer and a bag to carry books, a gift that has been spotted all over Oak Harbor in previous years.

Reading can be an individual activity or a team sport. Young children receive credit for books that are read to them, while the older participants also cash in the credit by reading the books alone or to a younger child or adult. Everybody wins in the end.

As if transporting oneself into worlds limited only by the readers’ imaginations wasn’t enough, participants who turn in their log by summer’s end and collect their prize will also be included in a drawing for a Folkmanis puppet donated by Honey Bear or a Webkinz stuffed animal donated by McBride’s Hallmark. But wait, there’s much more.

After 10 books, it’s time for a free Italian soda coupon for Whidbey Island Coffee which has several locations on the island. Sans caffeine, of course.

“They’ll get other prizes, such as a free paperback, when they reach their goal,” said Tomi Whalen. “Also there will be a Celebration of Readers later in August.”

Both passionate book-a-philes have already started planting reading seeds by visiting elementary schools. Now that school is out for the summer, kids will know to make a beeline to the library in Oak Harbor or Coupeville for their own enjoyment and continued learning.

Sno-Isle Libraries participates in the streamlined National Collaborative Summer Library Program, a grassroots consortium made up of state agencies and associations. Whalen is a member of the Teen Manual Committee.

“The program is convenient, and because it’s a consortium, it’s very economical,” she said.

For information about the year’s programs and events, visit Sno- Isle’s expanded Web site at www.sno-isle.org.