Join us for our hands-on storytelling adventures, Tales for Tots, held each Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 11 am. Staff will engage guest with interactive storytelling followed by process-driven and play-based art, literacy, and/or science activities that connect to the story theme of the day.
Monday - Museum of Ancient Life
Wednesday - Farm Country
Friday - January - February - Museum of Natural Curiosity
March - May - Butterfly Biosphere
June - September - Ashton Gardens
October - December - Butterfly Biosphere
Upcoming Schedule:
Museum of Ancient Life
July 22 | We Don’t Eat Our Classmates! by Ryan T. Higgins
It's the first day of school for Penelope Rex, and she can't wait to meet her classmates. But it's hard to make human friends when they're so darn delicious!
July 29 | How I Captured a Dinosaur by Henry and Amy Schwartz
Liz, who is fascinated by dinosaurs, finds a living Albertosaurus on a camping trip and brings it home to live with her.
August 5 | The Way I Feel by Janan Cain
Kids need words to name their feelings, just as they need words to name all things in their world. The Way I Feel uses strong, colorful, and expressive images which go along with simple verses to help children connect the word and the emotion.
August 12 | Rude Cakes by Rowboat Watkins
Who knew that cakes were so rude?! In this book, a not-so-sweet cake—who never says please or thank you or listens to its parents—gets its just desserts.
August 19 | Beep Beep, Vroom Vroom! by Stuart J Murphy
As Molly plays with her big brother’s toy cars, readers will see and recognize patterns, an essential first step in learning to reason from the specific to the general.
August 26 | The Bravest Knight by Mercer Mayer
I wish I lived a thousand years ago. There would be beautiful castles, kings and queens, good knights, fair ladies in danger, evil dragons from the mountains, and a giant troll that roars and eats anything.
Farm Country
July 17 | Hilda Must Be Dancing by Karma Wilson
Hilda Hippo loves to dance! But there's just one problem. When Hilda dances, it sounds like this: Ka-bump! Ka-bump! The other animals beg her to find a quieter hobby. Knitting? Singing? For Hilda, nothing else will do.
July 24 | No Tales for Tots - Holiday
July 31 | Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett
On a cold afternoon Annabelle finds a box with yarn of every color. It looks like an ordinary box of yarn. But it turns out it isn’t.
August 7 | Hi, Pizza Man by Virginia Walters
The toddler shouts, 'I'm hungry!' 'What will you say when the doorbell rings and we open the door?' asks Mom. 'Hi, Pizza Man!' replies the child. But what if it's a pizza woman? a pizza kitty? a pizza duck?
August 14 | Who Took the Farmers Hat by Joan L. Nodset
The farmer had a hat. The wind came and blew the hat away. The farmer went looking. Neither squirrel, nor Mouse, nor Duck, nor any of the other animals has seen the hat. Would the farmer ever find his favorite hat?
August 21 | Chicken to the Rescue by Jim Himmelman
The amazing chickens on the Greenstalk farm race to help various family members and farm animals every day of the week.
August 28 | Sloth Slept on by Frann Preston-Gannon
When a group of kids finds an animal napping in their backyard, they set out to discover what it is and where it belongs.
Ashton Gardens
July 20 | I Don’t Want to Be a Frog by Dev Petty
Frog wants to be anything but a slimy, wet frog. A cat, perhaps. Or a rabbit. An owl? But when a hungry wolf arrives—a wolf who HATES eating frogs—our hero decides that being himself isn’t so bad after all.
July 26 | Bee Dance by Rick Chrustowski
A honeybee searches for nectar, then returns to the hive to tell the other bees. She does a waggle dance, moving in a special figure-eight pattern to share the location of the food source with her hive mates.
August 2 | I am Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton
The Official Spider Test. What do you do when you see a spider? A. Smile, but back away slowly. B. Grab the closest object, wind up, and let it fly. C. Run away screaming. If you chose a, b, or c, then this book is for you!
August 9 | Bug Lunch by Margery Facklam
Bon Appetit! BUGS FOR LUNCH caters to a full array of creatures–animal, plant, and human–that munch on bugs. From a mantis perched and ready to prey on ladybugs and butterflies, to a spider trapping a fly.
August 16 | Inch by Inch by Leo Lionni
When a hungry nightingale threatens to eat Winsome Inchworm for breakfast unless he can measure her song, the inchworm calls on his craft and skill to creatively solve the dilemma.
August 23 | The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle
A tiny cricket is born and meets a big cricket who chirps his welcome. The tiny cricket tries to respond, but there is no sound. The quiet cricket then makes his way into the world, meeting one insect after another.
August 30 | The Very Clumsy Click Beetle by Eric Carle When a little click beetle falls onto his back, he seeks the help of a wise old click beetle. "Look at me," says the click beetle, giving a loud CLICK and flipping onto its feet. Will the clumsy little click beetle get the hang of it?
