Woodford County Library Play2Go exhibit
The Woodford County Library in Versailles currently has a great exhibit designed by the Kentucky Science Center. This is a temporary exhibit that will be going until February 26th. We checked it out last week and my 2.5 year old had a great time! First off, the library is at 115 N Main Street with parking along the street in front and in side streets as well as a parking lot in the back of the building off of Park Street. If you turn off W Green Street, you can then turn left onto Park Street and into the parking lot.
If you go in the front door, the exhibit is directly to your left, but really it is hard to miss. They have a large ramp area that allows the kids to put different balls down the ramps and along a course with loops and hills. The course is totally interchangeable, so your kids can work to build it different ways to see what happens. There are also different balls for them to see how smaller balls do versus larger, lighter balls. When we were leaving, I saw that some kids had brought matchbox cars from home and were using those on the ramps too. Smart idea!
Next, up the stairs is a large light board. This was by far my sons favorite part. He loved putting them in and seeing how the color changed once the light was on them, counting them, and making designs with them. On the other side of this is are velcro tubes that the kids can position to find see how the balls move down them and create a track. My son also loved this part.
There is also a large area with different colored shapes and sized toys with metal baskets to put them into and check them out with a large cash register. Another big hit here. There were also tables around the area with different shape focused books and paper with crayons and markers for your child to work with.
If you headed towards the children's section of the library, by the front windows, there are also large blue foam building pieces that my son loved playing with. Building them up, knocking them down and climbing on top of them. I am not 100% sure if these are part of the Play2Go exhibit, but they were great!
I have to say how much I appreciate this exhibit! It is hard to find somewhere that you can take your kids for free that keeps them so entertained and also provides great learning opportunities! Not that I mind driving for this, and I understand the importance of offering this in more rural counties, but it would be great if something like this came to our local Lexington libraries too.
Now, for the rest of the library. We have been to many libraries in and around Lexington and this is a really nice one! The children's area was pretty great with lots of puzzles and some trucks to play with (a big hit with my son).
They obviously also had a great children's book section. But, my absolute favorite part was the art/play room in the children's area. In this area, they had tons of small manipulatives like Lincoln Logs, blocks, Lego's, and lots of other things I don't know the name of. But, great for your kiddo that likes to build.
Plus, they had a large craft area with all kinds of different material to make things from. Plus, all the crayons, markers, etc that you could want. Kids that like to do art or create things could never leave. Plus, it is an enclosed room, so it is super easy for parents with multiple kids because they cannot wander away too easily. There is also a sink in this room and a place to hang up coats.
Overall, I was super impressed with the Science in Play2Go exhibit at the Woodford County library as well as the library itself. It can be hard to find a place to take your kids that will keep them busy and is cheap or free. Plus, this is totally chock full of education and learning. Who can beat that? And, if they get bored, you can always head over to the other areas in the library to do a craft or play with a puzzle or truck. We had a great time and will definitely be going back before it closes!
