Staff at the Pine River Library in Bayfield wanted something different to get kids excited about reading in the summer, so they came up with an "explosive idea."
Children's Services Manager Elizabeth Von Tauffkirchen decided to recreate a "Ping-Pong-Plosion" she had seen earlier on the Internet. Using liquid nitrogen, warm water, and hundreds of ping-pong balls, "Miss Liz" shared her explosion with school kids in Bayfield earlier this month.
"The kids loved seeing over 1,500 ping-pong balls explode into the air," Von Tauffkirchen said. "It was quite a sight."
Those experiments (four in all) were so popular, she's decided to do it again.
On Monday, June 1, she will share the experiment at the library's Summer Reading Program Kickoff event. Kids, teens, and adults are all invited to see the show starting at 10 a.m. in front of the library.
"Since this is our last time doing the experiment, kids will also get to keep a few of the ping-pong balls," she said, adding, "It's like an egg hunt with ping-pong balls!"
The library has a video of the "Ping-Pong-Plosion" on the library's website at www.prlibrary.org.
This year the library is encouraging kids, teens, and adults to read through the summer months. Prizes are awarded throughout the summer, with a grand prize drawing held at the end of July. For children and teens, the grand prizes range from a pool party to a 3-D pen. Meanwhile, for adults, the grand prize is an Apple Watch.
For more information about the experiment or the Summer Reading Program, contact the library at 884-2222, ext.510.
