McHenry, library unveil StoryWalk at Knox Park

A walk through Knox Park in McHenry can now include a story time for families.

The McHenry Public Library and the city of McHenry’s Parks and Recreation Department installed a StoryWalk adventure in the newly created nature park at Knox Park, according to a news release.

Pages of a children’s book will be on permanent displays and placed along the path. The first book to be featured is 2016′s “Cat’s Colors” by Airlie Anderson.

The stories, provided in both English and Spanish, will be changed quarterly throughout the year to give families a reason to visit the park often, according to a news release and marketing coordinator Adrian Mesino.

The StoryWalk “is designed to encourage children and families to exercise their minds and bodies in a healthy outdoor activity.”

—  Youth Services Librarian Lead Steffanie Baseley

In addition to the story, the displays will include questions and short activities designed to encourage children and their families to go beyond pages and use the park’s natural scenery and open space to move and play.

The StoryWalk “is designed to encourage children and families to exercise their minds and bodies in a healthy outdoor activity,” Youth Services librarian Steffanie Baseley said in a statement. “The StoryWalk facilitates kinesthetic learning, which is learning by doing instead of seeing and listening. These kinds of learners need to engage in physical activity to absorb information.”

The new nature park at Knox Park features a 1/2-mile crushed limestone trail that meanders through a wooded area where kids can explore nature, Director of Parks and Recreation Bill Hobson said in the release. Stumps and boulders are used as steppingstones, bridges and climbing obstacles.

The StoryWalk project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vermont, and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.

McHenry’s project was funded by the Roberta Kriese Estate, according to the release. Kriese was a longtime resident of Wonder Lake and an avid library user remembered by library staff for her love of mysteries, especially those featuring cats.