By Avonlea Cummings
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Thousands of creatures light up the night skies on dark humid summer nights, illuminating our backyards right before our eyes. Children and families of Westwood assembled at the Westwood Public Library (WPL) last Tuesday afternoon to learn about the magnificent insects of the nighttime, fireflies.
From a colorful and informative presentation to an arts and crafts activity, Heather Simpson from a non-profit, Hands-on Nature, visited the library to encourage the youth to go outside and new memories of firefly catching with their families.
Firefly catching is a distinct memory many have from playing outside when we were younger, but did you know the patterns of their flickering lights differ upon what each species of firefly is? The kids gazed in awe as they found out the most common type of firefly in Massachusetts shines its light in the form of the letter J. This was one of the many facts throughout the presentation that stood out amongst the excited group. After Simpson completed her presentation, the action was set to begin. The tables were lined up anxiously awaiting the children’s arrival, set up with mason jars, burlap, ribbon, and stickers all to decorate their soon-to-be firefly-catching jars.
“We want to create some awareness for the kids, sharing fun facts and more information about fireflies with them. Having arts and crafts projects like this will get them outside more and that’s our favorite thing is to extend the learning to be outside,” said Simpson.
The firefly jars were masterpieces, some with handles and even one with a flag attached. It was the perfect activity to do right before a beautiful night for some firefly catching. The Westwood Public Library always has fun activities for young families throughout the year, and it was a blast to get to see the kids' creativity come to life as they learned more about fireflies!
